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WatchWorld 


Looking  for  the  most  popular  Franck  Muller  • Watch  straps  in  al  shapes,  sizes  and  materials  • 
A world's  first  chronograph  from  Audemars  Piguet;  a mechanical  memory  laptimer 


high-end  brands,  models,  technology  and  design 


Cho 


Baume  & Merrier  Clifton  8-Day  Power  Reserve 
- page  20  - 


Volume  10  - issue  34, 2015 
SEK  69,00  NOK  69,00  DK  59,00  Fi  € 6,95 


BP  8 710966  023358 


“ The  LU.CXPS 
Fair  mined  is  made  entirely 
of  Fair  mined  gold  and  comes 
with  a certificate  to  prove  it  JJ 


- page  32 


Jaeger-LeCoultre  Master 
Calendar  Meteorite 
SWEDISH  ROCK! 


URBAN 
JURGENSEN 
comes  back 
home  to 
Denmark 


THE  LEGEND  AMONG  ICONS 


PORTUGIESER 


IWC  SCHAFFHAUSEN 


Portugieser  Perpetual  Calendar. 

Ref.  5034:  Real  icons  have  a special  story  to  tell.  And  what 
was  true  of  the  great  Portuguese  seafarers  also  applies  to 
IWC’s  own  Portugieser.  After  all,  the  history  of  its  genesis 
bears  the  stamp  of  courageous  innovation  and  watchmaking 
expertise  at  its  best.  Seventy-five  years  ago,  two  Portuguese 
businessmen  approached  IWC  requesting  a wristwatch  with 
the  precision  of  a marine  chronometer.  In  response,  IWC’s 
watchmakers  took  the  unprecedented  step  of  housing  a 
hunter  pocket  watch  movement  in  a wristwatch  case.  In 
so  doing,  they  founded  a watch  family  whose  timeless 
elegance,  sophisticated  technology  and  unmatched  com- 
plexity have  been  a source  of  wonderment  ever  since.  The 


movement  itself  is  visible  through  a transparent  sapphire 
glass  back  cover  that  provides  an  unimpeded  view  of  the 
IWC-manufactured  52000  calibre’s  impressive  precision. 
The  watch’s  complexity  is  eloquently  expressed  by  the  per- 
petual calendar,  whose  functions  can  all  be  adjusted  simply 
by  turning  the  crown.  And  just  as  observing  the  star-studded 
heavens  can  guide  a ship  safely  to  harbour,  a glance  at  the 
perpetual  calendar  and  the  moon  phase  display  navigate  the 
wearer  safely  through  the  complexities  of  time.  This,  in  a nut- 
shell, is  how  75  years  of  watchmaking  history  became  an 
icon  of  haute  horlogerie.  And  how,  thanks  to  its  unique  blend 
of  perfection  and  timeless  elegance,  it  has  become  a legend 
in  its  own  time.  iwc.  engineered  for  men. 


j*31 7 , _ 


IWC 

SCH AFFH AUSEN 


IWC  SCHAFFHAUSEN  BOUTIQUES:  AMSTERDAM  | PARIS  | VIENNA  | ROME  | NEW  YORK  | BEIJING  | DUBAI  | HONG  KONG  | GENEVA  | ZURICH 

IWC.COM 

For  more  information  please  call  +31  207  110  868  or  email  concierge.europe@iwc.com 


THE  SWAN  IfM 

/ Double  Tourbl  I Ion  30' 
Technique 

Greubel  Forsey 


WWW.GREUBELFORSEY.COM 


(jF) 

(jREUBELFORSEy 

INVENTEURS  HORLOGERS 


Nymans  Ur  1851 


PEQUIGNET 

MANUFACTURE 


CALIBRE  ROYAL 


A French  story 

Designed  and  produced  entirely  in  our  Haute  Horlogerie  laboratories  and  workshops, 
this  exceptional  calibre  is  unique  worldwide.  Its  unique  technique  now  combines  accura- 
cy, reliability  and  elegance  in  the  same  timepiece  with  multiple  complications.  With  8 
worldwide  patents,  the  Calibre  Royal®  is  exclusive  to  the  Pequignet  Manufacture,  and 
re-establishes  a link  to  the  unrivalled  expertise  of  French  Haute  Horlogerie. 


Fabrique  en  France  dans  le  Jura  Horloger  www.pequignet.com 


PEQUIGNET 

. MANUFACTURE 


HUBERT  AGENCY 

Mob.  0046  (0)73  089  4023 
sylvain@hubertagency.com 


ROYALE  300 


Multiple  integrated  complications 
Water-resistant  to  300m 
88-hour  power  reserve 


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WatchWorld 


IS  A PUBLICATION  OF  MOTOMAX  MEDIA  B.V. 

Musicalstraat  34  1 1323  VP  Almere  (The  Netherlands) 

P +31  (0)36  546  01 55  | f +31  (0)36  546  01 50 
e inf0@0024.nl  | iwww.0024watchworld.com 


International  Editor-in-Chief 

Lex  Stolk 

International  Editorial  Supervisor 

Harry  H.R.  Wijnschenk 

Editor-in-Chief  the  Nordics 

Britta  Rossander 

e b.rossander@0024watchworld.se 

Contributing  Editors 

Kristian  Haagen 
Britta  Rossander 
Lex  Stolk 

Bloggers 

Lex  Stolk 
Kristian  Haagen 

Translations 

Harald  European  Translation  Partners 
www.harald.nl 

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Public  Relations 

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Founding  Editor  & Founding  Publisher 

Karel  Hubert  & Harry  H.R.  Wijnschenk 
ISSN:  1567-6714 

Editorial  office 

0024  WatchWorld 

Musicalstraat  34  1 1323  VP  Almere  (The  Netherlands) 
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Cover 

Chopard  L.U.C  XPS  Fairmined 
Read  all  about  it  on  page  32 


neutft^ 

10506-1301-1001 


Solar 

Energy 


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WORLD  SPONSOR  AND  OFFICIAL  TIMEKEEPER  SINCE  1988  OF  THE  MILLE  MIGLIA  RACE. 


MILLE  MIGLIA 


IN  MEMORIAM 


| | By  Lex  Stolk 


I I 


KAREL 

HUBERT 

1949  - 2015 


Here  at  0024  Horloges  we  deal  with  time  on  a daily  basis.  Normally  it©  something  that 
we  enjoy,  but  right  now  we  are  hating  time.  We  desperately  want  to  turn  back  time 
because  one  of  our  founders,  former  Editor-in-Chief  Karel  Hubert,  passed  away  much 
too  early  at  the  age  of  65  and  we  are  missing  him  too  much.  It  was  his  own  decision  to 
end  his  time  here  on  earth  and  we  respect  that.  But  all  we  really  want  to  do  is  to  turn 
back  time  so  we  can  once  again  enjoy  his  incredible  anecdotes,  his  pithy  one-liners  and 
his  past  and  recent  rascally  exploits,  or  listen  to  him  talk  about  an  as-yet  unknown 
singer-songwriter  he  discovered  somewhere  in  a one-horse  town  in  the  depths  of 
Alabama. 

Karel  Hubert  - respected  writer,  motoring  and  watch  journalist,  advertising  man, 
observer  of  life  and  provocateur  pur  sang  - was  a fickle  man,  but  also  a charming  rebel 
and  a charismatic  individual.  A homo  universalis,  who  understood  about  the  good  and 
bad  things  in  life  and  the  sense  and  nonsense  of  watches.  Karel  was  able  to  make  you 
cry  or  laugh  out  loud,  make  you  a wiser  person  and  even  anger  you  with  the  words  he 
wrote.  Fortunately  for  all  of  us,  he  wrote  millions  of  words.  So  whenever  we  miss  him 
we  can  pull  out  one  of  his  many  books,  columns  or  articles  and  stop  time  for  just  a lit- 
tle while.  Thanks  Karel,  for  all  your  words  and  for  being  who  you  were.  Now  stop  time. 


10 


1 1 1 


0024  WATCHWORLD  I I 


PRIDE  AND  PROWESS® 


AMADEO®  FLEURIER 
6 TIMES  PATENTED 

22-DAY  FLYING  TOURBILLON  WITH  RETROGRADE  MINUTES 
AND  REVERSED  HAND-FITTING 
FULLY  INTEGRATED  CONVERTIBLE  CASE 
LIMITED  EDITION 


BRAVE  H EARJ 


FOR  MORE  INFORMATION  PLEASE  CALL  +41  22  731  46  38 


BOVET  FLEURIER 


SWITZERLAND 


FOUNDING  MEMBER  OF  THE  QUALITY  FLEURIER  CERTIFICATION  AND  PARTNER  OF  THE  FONDATION  DE  LA  HAUTE  HORLOGERIE 


WWW.BOVET.COM 


FOREWORD 


1 1 


Watchs 


l 


lain,  boat  and  trainspotters:  I get  it.  No,  I don®  make 
myself  comfortable  near  airfields,  railways  and  ship- 
ping routes  with  camera  and  notepad  or  laptop  at  the 
ready,  but  I am  definitely  a spotter.  A watch  spotter  that 
is,  with  a nudge  to  Trainspotting,  the  cult  movie  whose 
title  refers  to  a junkie  watching  his  train  wallpaper  in 
his  childhood  bedroom,  but  that's  an  aside.  So:  watch- 
spotting  is  my  thing  and  I do  it  all  the  time  and  where- 
ver I am.  When  Idn  watching  TV  - 1 spot  Charlie  Sheen 
wearing  a Patek  Philippe  in  a repeat  of  Two  and  a Half 
Man  and  I find  myself  chuckling,  not  at  the  corny  jokes 
but  because  of  the  fact  that  I@n  spotting  a Patek  - when 
I®n  eating  in  a restaurant  - to  the  serious  displeasure  of 
my  dinner  companion  who  is  feeling  neglected  - when 
I®n  on  a plane  - the  fellow  passen- 
ger can  feel  eyes  on  him,  but  stran- 
gely enough  on  his  wrist  rather 
than  the  back  of  his  neck. 

I find  flying  irritating  for  several 
reasons  - it  takes  a lot  of  time  just 
to  get  to  the  airport  and  on  board, 
it  is  always  too  cold  or  too  hot  on 
the  plane  and  the  KLM  snacks  are 
pathetic  - but  there  is  one  reason  I 
think  it®  fantastic:  watchspotting. 


"Some  brands  invite  discussion , whereas 
other  brands  say  everything  there  is  to  say 
with  their  flamboyant  look " 


It  starts  with  a warm-up  round  past  the  watches  in 
the  glass  cases  at  the  airport  - the  comprehensive  col- 
lection of  watches  at  the  modest  Geneva  airport  gives 
me  lots  of  pleasure  every  time  - and  then  moves  to  the 
seats  in  the  gate  waiting  area.  Spying  on  others,  loo- 
king around  discreetly,  assessing,  another  look.  During 
my  most  recent  flight  from  Geneva  back  to  Amster- 
dam I spotted  two  Rolexes  - a GMT  Master  II  and  an 
Explorer  I - plus  a brand-new  IWC  Portugieser  Annual 
Calendar  with  a blue  dial.  Incidentally,  that  IWC  is  a 
watch  that  invites  you  to  do  more  than  just  spotting. 
An  IWC  wearer  has  usually  made  the  decision  with  his 
head  and  his  heart,  and  is  quite  willing  to  talk  about  it 
to  like-minded  people.  Some  brands  invite  discussion, 
whereas  other  brands  say  eve- 
rything there  is  to  say  with  their 
flamboyant  look. 

Of  all  the  watches  I have  spotted 
there  are  two  that  I remember 
the  clearest:  a Royal  Oak  Tourbil- 
lon  that  I spotted  - a jaw-dropping 
moment  - when  I was  pushing  my 
way  through  business  class  trying 
to  get  to  economy  and  the  yellow 
gold  Cartier  Santos  100  Chrono- 
graph with  brown  alligator  strap 
with  staples.  Yes,  staples.  The 
owner  of  this  chunky  watch  had 
punched  two  staples  through  the 
strap  so  it  wouldn®  keep  sliding 
through  the  clasp.  The  watch  contained  just  a little  too 
much  heavy  metal  for  the  strap  system,  so  the  staples 
were  there  to  stop  the  annoying  sliding  of  the  strap. 
Although  inventive  and  intriguing  it  did  not  result  in  a 
conversation.  But  my  watchspotting  continues  unaba- 
ted - I®n  sure  you  know  how  that  goes. 


0024  WATCHWORLD  I I 


THE  HYDRO 
MECHANICAL 
HOROLOGISTS 


HYT 


HYT  is  the  first  timepiece  ever  to  combine  mechanical  and  liquid 
engineering.  H2,  unique  Swiss  technology  and  movement  made  in 
cooperation  with  Audemars  Piguet  Renaud  & Papi  - manual  winding  and 
8-day  power-reserve  - driving  a unique  high-tech  fluidic  technology. 

HYT  - a new  dawn  in  watchmaking. 


1851 


NYMANS  UR 


STOCKHOLM 
WATCHES  & JEWELRY 
WWW.NYMANSUR.COM 


HYTWATCHES.COM 


ii  CONTENT  ii 


IN  MEMORIAM 

Karel  Hubert,  Founding  Editor  of  0024 
Horloges  and  0024  WatchWorld 

SMALL  SECONDS 

A new  milestone  in  haute  horlogerie: 
the  Michael  Schumacher  Laptimer  by 
Audemars  Piguet.  Alpina  athlete  Patrick 
Sweeney  ascends  the  Himalayas. 

ARTIST  IMPRESSION 

MB&F  builds  a kinetic  robot  and  calls 
him  Melchior. 

RETROSPECTIVE 

1981  was  the  year  of  the  very  first 
talking  watch:  the  Omni  Voice-Master. 
Remember  that  one? 

0024  MARKET  SCAN 

What  is  the  most  popular  Franck 
Muller  model:  the  Casablanca  or 
the  Long  Island?  0024  Market  Scan 
commissioned  some  research  and 
answers  the  question. 

OPINION 

The  road  to  sustainable  luxury  is  as 
paved  with  fair  gold.  But  what  is  ‘fair 
gold’ and  how  do  you  know  you  have  a 
watch  made  of  fair  gold? 


BASELWORLD  2015 

We  give  you  an  astonishing  24  pages 
of  information  about  the  latest  at 
BaselWorld  by  brands  from  Alpina 
to  Zenith.  We  also  take  a closer  look 
at  four  very  special  watches  that  we 
picked  out.  The  ‘Club  of  40’  features 
watch  models  that  have  adjusted  the 
case  size  to  exactly  40mm.  You  will 
also  be  able  to  see  BaselWorld  through 
Instagram  eyes  and  we  give  you  a 
retrospective:  BaselWorld  2015  was 
once  again  a huge  spectacle. 


PHOTOSHOOT 

Black  Light 

REPORT 

Meteorites  are  most  often  splinters 
from  collisions  between  asteroids  that 
have  come  off  course.  Several  watch 
brands,  such  as  Jaeger-LeCoultre  and 
Rolex  use  parts  of  meteorite  to  create 
heavenly  watches.  0024  WatchWorld 
tells  you  more  about  it. 

Watch  straps.  Those  who  want  to  be 
different  wear  something  unique.  A 
personally  selected,  different  watch 
strap  is  a good  start. 

The  history  and  promising  future  of 
Danish  watch  brand  Urban  Jiirgensen 
& Sonner 

0024  European  Watch  of  the  Year 
Awards.  The  nominations  are  in,  the 
judging  can  start.  0024  gets  you  in  the 
mood  for  the  prestigious  watch  awards. 

SERVICE 

Contact/subscriptions 

COLUMN 

Britta  Rossander 
Kristian  Haagen 


14,1, 


0024  WATCHWORLD  I I 


OYSTER  PERPETUAL  ROLEX  DEEPSEA 


t 

ROLEX 


1851 

KRONS  NYMANS  UR 

STOCKHOLM 
krons.se 


WATCHES  & JEWELRY 
STOCKHOLM  I VASTERAS 
WWW.NYMANSUR.COM 


BRUVIK 

fine  timepieces 

ARCTIC  OCEAN  II 

POWER  RESERVE 

Hr  NORWEGIAN  DESIGN  - SWISS  MADE  + 


BASED  ON  A TRUE  STORY 


BRUVIKTIME.COM 


ii  SMALL  SECONDS 


I I By  Lex  Stolk 


Now  don't  dismiss  this  as  just  another  chronograph  bearing  the  name  of  a celebrity. 
This  ‘AP’  is  the  chrono  of  all  chronos!  The  Laptimer  Michael  Schumacher  is  a 


AUDEMARS  PIGUET  Royal  Oak  Concept 


c i Koyai  uak  < 

Laptimer  MICHAEL  SCHUMACHER 


milestone  in  haute  horlogerie. 


Specs: 

Laptimer  Chronograph  dual  central  seconds 
hand,  flyback,  30-minute  counter,  small  seconds, 
hours  and  minutes.  44mm  case  of  forged  carbon, 
convex  anti-glare  sapphire  crystal,  titanium  case 
back  and  bezel,  ceramic  crown  with  rose  gold 
details,  featuring  the  MS  logo  on  the  black  cera- 
mic pusher  for  the  lap  timer  at  go  clock. 
Thickness  of  movement:  12.7mm 
Frequency:  28,800  vph 
Power  reserve:  80  hours 
No.  of  components:  413 

Limited  edition  of  221  (the  number  of  Grand  Prix 
in  which  Schumacher  scored  points) 

Price:  in  excess  of  200,000  euro 


Unfortunately  the  seven  time  Formula  One  world  champion  is  unable  to  attend  the  presentation 
with  the  watch  bearing  his  name.  He  is  still  suffering  from  the  effects  of  his  skiing  accident,  but 
Michael  Schumacher's  agent,  Sabine  Kehm,  remains  hopeful  about  his  recovery  process:  “He  has 
never  been  one  to  give  up,  as  evidenced  by  his  impressive  list  of  achievements.  We  all  remain 
positive.  So  let©  raise  a glass  to  Michael  because  the  Laptimer  is  definitely  a great  occasion.”  The 
Laptimer  is  an  idea  of  the  German  champion,  which  he  discussed  with  the  manufacture  in  Le 
Brassus  in  2010.  Together  with  his  good  friend  Jean  Todt  (formerly  the  head  honcho  at  Ferrari, 
now  FIA  boss  and  always  a lover  of  watches)  Schumacher  was  visiting  Audemars  Piguet  CEO 
Francois-Henry  Bennahmias  and  technical  master  brain  Julio  Papi  from  Renaud  et  Papi.  The 
retired  racing  driver  indicated  that  he  would  like  to  have  a mechanical  chronograph  that  could 
record  and  remember  lap  times.  The  lap  starts  and  the  chronograph  is  started.  After  a round  of, 
say,  51  seconds,  the  time  recording  stops  but  the  next  recording  is  started  immediately  while  the 
first  lap  time  remains  visible  on  the  watch.  Is  that  possible?  Julio  Papi  immediately  said  “yes!”, 
but  was  initially  unable  to  answer  the  question  how  he  would  realise  this.  The  eventual  solution 
is  a (still)  secret  mechanism  that  ensures  that  no  time  is  lost  upon  starting  the  time  recordings, 
otherwise  the  discrepancies  would  be  compounded  in  subsequent  time  recordings. 

A suggestion  from  a customer  that  materialises  in  a record-breaking  watch.  It  seems  the  days 
of  Henry  Graves  and  James  Ward  Packard  are  being  revisited.  In  their  mutual  rivalry  to  possess 
the  most  complicated  pocket  watch  they  pushed  the  technicians  at  Patek  Philippe  to  unheard-of 
heights,  and  Michael  Schumacher  did  the  same  at  AP.  It©  a comparison  Bennahmias  can  live  with: 
“The  Royal  Oak  Concept  Laptimer  Michael  Schumacher  is  the  21st-century  version  of  the  Henry 
Graves  Supercomplication.  He  had  had  the  idea  for  some  time  and  apparently  he  was  confident 
that  we  would  actually  be  able  to  realise  it.  It  took  us  a while,  but  we  did  it.  It©  really  three  chro- 
nographs in  one.  With  this  watch  it  is  possible  to  constantly  record  and  read  new  lap  times,  mark 
a reference  time  while  new  time  recordings  are  being  made,  but  it  also  functions  as  a standard 
chronograph.”  The  two  central  seconds  hands  that  alternately  revolve,  stop,  rest,  fly  back  and  start 
again  create  a mechanical  ballet  without  equal. 


18 


1 1 1 


0024  WATCHWORLD  I I 


FREDERIQUE  CONSTANT 

GENEVE 


i HEART  BEAT 

MANUFACTURE  SILICIUM 

FROM  CHF  5’595.- 

J 

Handcrafted  in-house  movement. 

Manufacture  Collection:  in-house  developed, 
in-house  produced  and  in-house  assembled  movements. 


More  information  on  www.frederique-constant.com 


IQ 

YEARS  OF 


HEART  BEAT 

MANUFACTURE 


SMALL  SECONDS 


i i 


i i 


BAUME  & MERCIER 

Clifton  8-Day  Power  Reserve 

Accessibility  and  history  are  by  no  means  mutually  exclusive.  Baume  & Mercier 
has  a reputation  to  maintain  when  it  comes  to  accessible  luxury  and  has  a history 
that  goes  back  185  years.  That  makes  the  brand  one  of  the  oldest  houses  in  the 
watch  world.  Because  of  the  limited  edition  and  the  16,000  euro  price  ticket  the  185 
copies  that  will  be  made  of  the  Clifton  8-Day  Power  Reserve  are  perhaps  somewhat 
less  accessible  than  the  regular  models,  but  this  anniversary  model  does  fit  in  with 
an  exclusive  series  that  started  in  2013  with  the  Clifton  1830  followed  by  the  Clifton 
Tourbillon  of  2014.  The  45.5mm  rose  gold  case,  alternately  polished  and  brushed, 
and  the  convex  dial  that  harmonises  beautifully  with  the  shape  of  the  sapphire 
crystal  pay  a classic  tribute  to  the  heritage  of  the  watch  house.  The  hand-wound 
movement  used  for  the  watch,  with  its  8-day  power  reserve,  is  IWC's  sizeable  59210 
calibre.  You  could  call  that  the  cherry  on  the  birthday  cake. 


PARMIGIANI  FLEURIER 


Bugatti  Mythe,  Revelation  and  Victoire 


The  incomparable  Bugatti  370  - the  vertical  construction  of  the  movement  in  this  watch 
remains  a constant  source  of  amazement  - is  the  basis  for  three  anniversary  models. 

The  10-year-old  collaboration  between  the  illustrious  car  brand  and  the  haute  horlogerie 
manufacture  from  Fleurier  gets  additional  splendour  with  the  presentation  of  the 
limited  edition  Bugatti  Mythe,  Bugatti  Victoire  and  Bugatti  Revelation.  Three  watches, 
three  themes.  The  Mythe  highlights  the  traditional  craftsmanship  aspect,  the  Revelation 
searches  for  and  discovers  the  link  between  car  and  watch  in  external  appearances  and  the 
Victoire  captures  the  sense  of  power  and  speed  that  is  inextricably  associated  with  Bugatti. 
Without  a doubt,  incredible  creations  and  therefore  incredibly  fascinating,  too. 


43  Monsieur  Bovet 


A cabriolet  for  the  wrist.  With  the  Amadeo  concept  Bovet  has  a 
collection  that  can  be  worn  on  the  wrist,  in  the  vest  pocket  or  on  a 
pendant,  and  can  even  be  put  on  a table.  Much  more  versatile  than 
a cabriolet,  therefore;  after  all,  that  can  only  open  and  close.  You 
see  a table  clock  and  a watch,  but  in  fact  you  are  only  looking  at 
the  Amadeo  Fleurier  43  Monsieur  Bovet.  Because  not  only  can  an 
Amadeo  be  used  in  different  ways  -as  the  watch  is  reversible  there 
are  also  two  dials.  The  basis  is  the  Virtuoso  II  calibre  with  a 7-day 
power  reserve  realised  by  a single  spring  barrel  and  a frequency  of 
21,600  vibrations  per  hour.  The  hours,  minutes  and  seconds  and 
sub-seconds  can  be  seen  via  a patented  co-axial  system  and 
a power  reserve  indicator. 


BOVET  Amadeo  Fleurier 


20  1 1 1 


0024  WATCHWORLD  I I 


ASTRON 


ASTRON. 

THE  WORLD’S  FIRST 
GPS  SOLAR  WATCH. 


ASTRON 


By  connecting  to  the  GPS  network,  the  new  Astrlon  adjusts  at  the 
touch  of  a button  to  your  time  zone*  and,  by  taking  all  the  energy  it 
needs  from  light  alone,  never  needs  a battery  change. 


Time  zone  data  as  of  January  2014.  Time  zone  can  be  also  manually  adjusted 


DEDICATED  TO  PERFECTION 


www.optura.no 


ii  SMALL  SECONDS  n 


An  architectural 

SERPENTI 

The  Serpenti  by  Bulgari  is  a swirling  and  cur- 
ving style  icon.  Born  in  i960,  the  creation  grew 
into  a symbol  of  opulence.  Highly  renowned 
modern  architect  Zaha  Hadid  designed  a Ser- 
penti installation  especially  for  the  Design  Week 
in  Milan.  In  addition  to  the  architect,  Bulgari's 
CEO  Jean-Christophe  Babin,  actress  Nastassja 
Kinski,  architect  and  designer  Philippe  Starck, 
artist  Francesco  Vezzoli  and  architect  and 
designer  Antonio  Citterio  were  there  when 
the  creation  was  revealed  in  the  garden  of  the 
Bulgari  Hotel. 

Picture:  Getty  Images  for  Bulgari 


reddot  award  2015 

winner 


A red  dot  for 

ARMIN  STROM 

And  the  2015  Red  Dot  Design  Award  goes  to...  To  quite  a few 
designs,  actually,  but  Armin  Strom  also  received  an  internationally 
recognised  award,  as  the  steel  Skeleton  Pure  Water  managed  to 
get  the  first  prize  in  the  watch  category.  The  modern  skeletonised 
watch  adopts  a less-is-more  approach  that  still  manages  to  look 
flamboyant  and  technical.  The  three-dimensionality  of  the  design 
and  the  use  of  colour  do  the  rest.  The  winning  watch  will  be 
displayed  in  the  Red  Dot  Design  Museum  in  the  German  town  of 
Essen  this  coming  year,  but  it  is  also  for  sale  to  mere  mortals.  With 
a Red  Dot  on  the  packaging. 


ALPINAin  the  Himalayas 

An  alp  atop  a Himalayan  mountain  top?  Sounds  impossible,  yet  it  hap- 
pened. On  24  February  Alpina  athlete  and  brand  ambassador  Patrick 
Sweeney  reached  the  Everest  Base  Camp,  making  him  the  first  person  who 
officially  reached  the  5180m  location  on  a mountain  bike.  The  tiring  trek  to 
the  record  location,  which  started  off  in  Lukla  in  Nepal,  took  six  days. 


22  1 1 1 


0024  WATCHWORLD  I I 


G-SHDCK 

ABSOLUTE  TOUBHNESS 


Aviation  Watches 


Professional  direction 

G RAVITYMASTER  GA-1000 

A watch  delivering  not  only  the  precise  time,  but  also  the  precise  direction! 

By  pressing  the  button  at  the  9 o'clock  position  the  watch  immediately  goes  to  the 
Digital  Compass  Mode.  Continual  direction  readings  can  be  taken  for  20  seconds, 
during  which  the  second  hand  points  to  north,  it's  easy  to  take  control! 


Store  Finder 

For  any  Mther  product  inform^ion  andtra 
complete  trader  1st  please  scan  the  Gfl  code 


g-shock.ey 


E 

Ji 

E 


ARTIST  IMPRESSION 


I I By  Lex  Stolk 


You  don®  celebrate  a decade  of  MB&F  with  a special  watch.  Those  who  are  somewhat  familiar  with  what 
drives  founder  Maximilian  Busser  know  that  a watch  is  much  too  ordinary.  The  anniversary  will  be  a many 
splendored  thing  with  the  aid  of  an  object  that  is  the  direct  source  of  inspiration  for  the  idiosyncratic  MB&F 
brand:  a robot.  As  a child  Busser  always  wanted  a robot  as  a friend  and  now,  as  an  eternally  young-at-heart 
adult,  he  has  managed  to  build  such  a friend.  Together  with  the  Swiss  clock  experts  of  L'Epee  1839  Busser 
constructed  a kinetic  robot  from  480  components  and  named  it  Melchior.  The  armoured  Melchior  is  just 
the  kind  of  friend  you  want  on  your  side  when  you  are  battling  the  dark  forces  of  the  universe!  By  the  way, 
Melchior  has  disguised  himself  as  a table  clock.  He  ‘blinks’  his  eyes  at  20-second  intervals,  the  time  can  be 
read  on  his  chest  and  his  brain  is  the  regulating  body  of  the  movement.  The  removable  weapon  on  his  left 
arm  serves  to  wind  and  adjust  the  movement.  Ninety-nine  Melchiors  will  be  produced  and  both  a light  and 
a dark  version,  with  black  PVD  components,  are  available. 


24  1 1 1 


0024  WATCHWORLD  I I 


TIME  AND  ENERGY.  THIS  WATCH  SHOWS  YOU  BOTH 


The  Manero  PowerReserve  indicates 
how  much  energy  it  has  available  at  all 
times.  Incorporating  a power  reserve 
display  and  the  highly  accurate 
CFBA1011  Manufacture  movement, 
this  timepiece  combines  excellent 
functionality  with  sophisticated 
technology.  In  its  design,  classical 
and  modern  elements  complement 
one  anotherto  give  a watch  an 
eye-catchingly  expressive  appearance. 

BOUND  TO  TRADITION-DRIVEN  BY  INNOVATION 


Carl  F.  Bucherer 

FINE  SWISS  WATCHMAKING 


FINLAND: 

WESTERBACK,  KESKUSKATU  5,  00100  HELSINKI,  TEL:  +358  20  7000  605,  WWW.WESTERBACK.FI 

NORWAY: 

URMAKER  CRISTENSEN  STORO  S/A,  VITAMINVEIEN  7-9,  STORO,  0485  OSLO,  TEL:  2 242  70  25,  WWW.PROTID.NO 
URMAKER  THORBJ0RNSEN,  NYTORGET  12,  N-4013  STAVANGER,  TEL:  +47  51  52  07  66,  WWW.URMAKER.NO 


RETROSPECTIVE 


I I By  Lex  Stolk 


I I 


Omni  Voice-Master 

CHATTERBOX 


0024  WatchWorld  looks  back  to  the  past,  when 
innovative  watches  were  being  created  that  proved  to 
have  great  influence  on  the  development  of  the  watch 
industry.  We  follow  the  trail  of  these  milestones  by 
reminiscing  with  the  use  of  old  advertising  campaigns.  In 
this  eighth  episode  we  would  like  to  take  you  back  to 
1 981,  when  the  first  talking  watch  was  produced,  the 
Omni  Voice-Master.  Exactly  how  smart  was  this  watch? 


The  Google  and  Intel  logos 
were  very  prominentat 
the  TAG  Heuer  stand  (no 
watch,  and  it  still  hasn® 
been  presented,  only  an- 
nounced) and  those  who 
continued  through  the  vast  halls  of  BaselWorld 
could  see,  for  example,  a press  conference  at 
Gucci  where  pop  idol  will.i.am  was  explaining 
- but  not  yet  presenting  - a collaboration  for  the 
development  of  a smart  watch.  And  the  shadow 
of  Apple  clouded  all  the  exhibitors.  The  fear 
that  smart  watches  would  finish  what  the  first 
quartz  watches  started  but  failed  to  complete 
(wiping  out  the  art  of  mechanical  watchma- 
king) was  tangible. 

However,  that  fear  appears  to  be  unfounded 
and  definitely  not  comparable  to  the  quartz 
danger,  which  was  averted  very  cleverly. 
Mechanical  function  became  luxury  emotion 
and  quartz  stepped  into  the  functional  vacuum. 
By  their  very  nature  smart  watches  are  also 
functional.  Even  the  mass  produced  watch 
made  by  image  brand  Apple  is  largely  functi- 
onal. Impressing  the  wearer  with  astonishing 
applications  is  a temporary  whim  rather  than 
a long-term  or  even  eternal  passion.  Even  a 
talking  watch  from  1981  did  not  leave  a lasting 
impression.  Or  do  you  remember  the  1981  Voice- 
Master  made  by  Personal  Electronics  Inc.  in 
Hong  Kong? 

The  Empire  Strikes  Back 

The  digital  Omni  Voice-Master  with  LCD  screen 
tells  the  wearer  what  time  it  is  and  is  also 
equipped  with  an  alarm  and  a chronograph.  In 
other  words,  a quartz  minute  repeater,  really. 
One  with  a robotic  voice.  That  voice  was  made 
possible  thanks  to  speech  synthesis  and  was 
far  ahead  of  its  time.  The  vocal  sounds  did  not 
come  from  a memory  but  were  generated  by 
the  watch  on  the  spot.  In  a time  when  ‘Star 
Wars:  The  Empire  Strikes  Back’  was  being 


shown  in  cinemas  this  was  the  essence  of  cool. 
Incidentally,  the  Voice-Master  was  quite  the 
chatterbox  because  the  alarm  also  had  a snooze 
function  that  would  admonish  the  wearer  if 
he  or  she  did  not  respond  to  the  alarm  within  5 
minutes.  “Attention  please;  it’s  (...  o'clock).  Please 
hurry,”  the  watch  would  say  in  a serious  tone 
of  voice.  When  the  chronograph  was  activated 
theVoice-Masterwould  speak  as  well.  During 
the  time  recording  the  watch  would  announce 
the  elapsed  time  every  5 minutes.  And  all  that 
for  just  99  dollars!  A price  that,  if  converted  into 
today©  value,  would  be  similar  to  modern  smart 
watches  made  by  Samsung,  Pebble  or  Sony,  for 
example. 

Despite  the  revolutionary  robotic  voice  and 
the  reasonable  price  the  Omni  Voice-Master 


did  not  turn  out  to  be  a timeless  watch.  Even 
the  20  seconds  of  the  Minuet  by  Boccherini, 
played  after  the  time  was  announced, could  not 
alter  that  fact.  Even  the  multifunctionality  of 
the  steel  watch,  which  could  also  be  used  as  a 
pocket  watch  or  a small  table  clock,  did  not  turn 
the  Voice-Master  into  an  icon;  more  of  a quirk. 
Thirty-four  years  from  now  will  we  be  writing  a 
similar  piece  about  the  smart  watches  that  are 
appearing  right  now?  Perhaps.  But  one  thing  is 
certain,  we  will  still  be  writing  about  mechani- 
cal watches  with  admiration  and  love. 

PS.  For  eternal  Star  Wars  fans  who  are  getting 
ready  for  the  imminent  new  trilogy  or  for  fana- 
tical quartz  collectors  it  may  be  useful  to  remind 
you  that  Voice-Masters  can  still  be  found  for  sale 
on  the  internet  for  around  375  euro.  ■ 


26  1 1 1 


0024  WATCHWORLD  I I 


Now  a word  from 
the  world’s  first 
talking  watch ! 


World’s  First! 

You  heard  it  first  folks, 
right  from  the  watch's  mouth! 

A watch  that  really  "tells"  you 
the  time  to  the  exact  minute  — 
in  AM  or  P.M  This  new 
dimension  in  "telling”  time  is 
totally  electronic  and  solid 
state  with  no  moving  parts. 

The  Voice-Master  is  not  a tape 
player,  A human  voice  is 
"simulated"  using  a new 
technology  called  ‘Voice 
synthesis."  Three  integrated 
circuits  store  the  voice 
wavelength  code  and  release 
it  through  the  mini-speaker 
whenever  the  Voice-Master 
"talks." 

Talking  Time 

With  one  push  of  the 
Voice- Masters  speak  button 
the  watch  will  announce  the 
time  in  hours*  minutes,  and 
either  AM  or  PM  At  your 
option  the  watch  will  tell  you 
the  time  on  the  hour  and  half- 
hour  automatically,  it  afso  has 
a large  visual  LCD  display  of 
the  hours*  minutes  and 
seconds. 

Snooze  Alarm 

This  feature  allows  you  to 
receive  wake-uo  calls  from  the 

Voice-Master*  First  it  plays  5 tones,  then  the  voice 
announces  the  time;  which  is  followed  by  20  seconds  of 
melody  (Boccherinis  Minuet).  Next  the  special  snooze 
feature  will  warn  you  that  another  5 minutes  has  elasped.  The 
voice  says:  "Attention  please;  it's  (the  time).  Please  hurry/* 
and  then  plays  20  seconds  of  melody.  This  can  also  be 
repeated  after  another  5 minutes. 

Daily  Alarm 

Set  the  alarm  for  appointments,  lunch,  etc*,  anytime  of 
he  day.  The  watch  plays  a musical  tone,  announces  the  time 
md  then  plays  20  seconds  of  melody. 

Chronograph 

This  feature  allows  you  to  time  events  up  to  9 hours  and 
>9  minutes  with  a voice  announcement  of  elasped  time  every 
j minutes  or  at  your  command* 

Accessories 

The  Voice-Master  is  designed  so  well  ifs  actually  a 3-in - 
1 time  piece.  It  can  be  worn  like  an  ordinary  wristwatch  with  a 
utly  adjustable  stainless  steel  band  or  remove  the  band, 
ittach  the  enclosed  chain,  and  it  becomes  a pocket  watch 
vith  case.  Mounted  on  the  enclosed  stand,  it  becomes  a 
niniature  clock  for  desk  or  auto  dashboard.  This  wonder- 
vatch  is  gift  boxed  with  all  accessories  included. 

The  Voice-Master  carries  a full  one-year  manufacturer's 
varranty  against  defects  an  parts  and  workmanship* 


r 

■ 

i 

■ 

i 

■ 

i 

i 

■ 

■ 

i 

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■ 

i 

i 


To  Order 

Send  your  name,  address 
and  phone  number  with  your 
check  or  money  order.  Credit 
card  buyers  (MasterCard* 
VISA,  American  Express* 
Diners  Club*  Carte  Blanche) 
send  your  card  number  and 
expiration  date  or  phone  us. 

Phone  (205)  793-6876 

Satisfaction  guaranteed  or 
your  money  refunded* 

Voice-Master  Talking  Watch  — $99,88 

Plus  $2.50  postage  & handling  (a  total  of  $102.38  each)* 
Alabama  residents:  Add  $4,00  sales  tax, 

Saturn  Marketing,  Inc.  / P,  O,  Drawer  15§  / Dothan.  Alabama  36303 


o 


SATURN  MARKETING,  INC. 

P.  O.  Drawer  159  I Dothan.  Alabama  36302 


PS- 11 


Send Voice-Master  Watches  at  $99  88  plus  $2  50 

postage  & handling  (a  total  of  $102.38  for  each  watch)* 
Enclose  check  or  money  order. 

Credit  Card  Orders:  □ Master  Card  □ American  Express 
O VISA  □ Diner's  Club  □ Carte  Blanche 


Card  No. 
Signature 
Name  — 


Exp.  Date 


Phone  . 


Address 


City 


State 


Zip  . 


I I 0024  WATCHWORLD 


i i i 27 


Jaeger-LeCoultre  shows  a particular  interest  in  the  heavens  above  this 
year.  The  fascination  with  the  movements  of  the  heavenly  bodies 
materialises  in  a watch  with  a meteorite  dial.  A stone  found  in  Sweden. 


At  the  SIHH  2015  Jaeger-LeCoultre 
displayed  a watch  model  with  a 
face  cut  from  a meteorite.  The  Swiss 
could  not  pronounce  the  name 
of  the  meteorite's  place  of  impact  so  at  press 
information  they  asked  me  for  help.  It  was  quite 
impossible  to  utter  the  name,  which  is  derived 
from  both  Sami  and  Finnish,  with  far  too  many 
vowels.  The  press  conference  made  me  curious 
about  what  kind  of  place  it  was.  The  only  thing 
JLC  could  tell  me  was  that  it  was  located  above 
the  Arctic  Circle  and  was  called  Muonionalusta. 


"Meteorites  are  most  often  splinters  from  collisions 
between  asteroids  that  have  come  off  course " 


This  is  not  the  first  watch  model  to  contain  a 
piece  of  a meteorite.  Rolex,  for  example,  produ- 
ced the  model  Daytona  with  a face  made  from 
a meteorite  that  was  found  in  Namibia  in 
1838.  This  meteorite  has  been  used  as  material 


for  watch  faces  or  details  on  watch  faces  by 
several  watch  makers:  Corum,  Omega,  Arnold 
& Son  and  Bovet  are  just  a few  of  those  who 
have  made  use  of  this  legendary  material  from 
outer  space. 

The  fascination  for  meteorite  as  a material 
increased  several  hundred-fold  following  the 
film  Armageddon  (1998),  in  which  Willie  Bob 
Thornton  and  Bruce  Willis  saved  the  world. 

The  plot  is  based  on  the  story  of  how  a gigantic 
asteroid,  as  big  as  the  state  of  Texas,  is  hurtling 
on  collision  course  towards  Earth  at  a speed 
of  35,000  km  an  hour.  In  order  to  prevent  the 
catastrophe,  the  head  of  NASA  employs  the 
services  of  the  world's  leading  oil  driller,  the 
only  one  up  for  the  task.  He  and  his  men  have 
to  spend  twelve  intensive  days  training  to 
become  astronauts  and  more  importantly  - to 
save  the  planet... 

0024  WatchWorld  phoned  Thomas  Osterberg, 
who  knows  all  there  is  to  know  about  the 
meteorite  in  Muonionalusta  and  who  tells  us: 
"I  got  interested  in  the  history  of  the  Muo- 


28  1 1 1 


0024  WATCHWORLD  I I 


When  the  object  is  still  in  space  it  is  called  a mete- 
oroid. When  it  enters  the  earth’s  atmosphere  and 
is  slowed  down  by  air  resistance  a flash  of  light  is 
formed,  called  a shooting  star.  If  the  object  does 
not  burn  up  completely  in  the  atmosphere  and 
therefore  manages  to  reach  the  earth’s  surface,  it 
is  known  as  a meteorite.  Meteorites  can  ‘impact’ 
and  can,  if  they  are  big  enough,  form  enormous 
craters,  a good  example  of  which  is  the  Swedish 
lake  Siljan.  Meteorites  are  most  often  splinters 
from  collisions  between  asteroids  that  have  come 
off  course. 

I called  Eger  Space  Rock  in  Germany,  which  is 
one  of  two  companies  that  have  successfully  cut 
watch  faces  from  meteorite  material.  Unfor- 
tunately, I wasn't  able  to  get  in  touch  with  the 
owner  but  was  informed  by  his  Swedish  contact 
person  that  in  the  manufacturing  of  these 
watch  faces  two  out  of  three  had  to  be  thrown 
away  as  the  material  was  so  sensitive  to  work 
with.  I also  learned  that  since  there  had  been 
a little  looting  of  the  meteorites  in  the  area 
around  Pajala,  access  was  becoming  more  res- 
tricted and  they  were  not  likely  to  get  any  more. 
I also  spoke  with  a knife  maker  in  southern 
Sweden  who  uses  the  material  to  make  handles 
for  his  knives  and  he  told  me  that  he  too  was 
affected  by  the  dwindling  access. 

The  Jaeger-LeCoultre's  Master  Calendar  watch, 
with  a face  cut  from  pieces  of  the  meteorite  that 
was  first  found  in  1906,  has  a watch  case  in  rose 
gold,  measures  39  mm  in  diameter  and  contains 
a perpetual  calendar  and  phases  of  the  moon 
mechanism.  The  watch  face  made  from  meteo- 
roid material  is  beautifully  polished  and  for  the 
moon  phases  lapis  lazuli  is  used  - a mineral  that 
was  the  favourite  stone  of  the  royal  households 
in  the  monarchies  of  old.  The  mineral  is  also 
said  to  have  curative  powers  and  is  ideal  for  use 
in  modern  healing  sessions.  ■ 


nionalusta  meteorite  over  10  years  ago.  My 
first  visit  to  the  area  was  in  2002.  The  town  of 
Muonionalusta  is  situated  north  of  the  Arctic 
Circle  not  far  from  Pajala  on  the  border  with 
Finland,  and  it  was  in  1906  when  the  first 
piece  of  the  meteorite  was  found  there.  There 
soon  won't  be  anything  left  of  it.  People  star- 
ted ‘plundering’  after  Armageddon  and  a lot  of 
it  disappeared  over  the  border. " 


In  literature  the  meteorite  was  first  described 
in  1910  by  Professor  AG  Hogbom,  who  named 
it  ‘Muonionalusta’,  after  a place  in  the  vicinity 
near  the  River  Muonio.  It  has  been  studied 
closely  and  is  presumed  to  be  the  oldest  mete- 
orite known  to  mankind,  the  oldest  discovered 
meteorite  that  fell  to  earth  during  the  Quater- 
nary Period,  which  is  approximately  one  million 
years  ago.  Hence  it  has  survived  four  ice  ages 
and  originally  stems  from  an  impact  in  space 
that  occurred  hundreds  of  millions  of  years  ago. 
The  fact  that  it  was  found  at  all  is  thanks  to 
two  children,  who  in  1906,  while  tending  their 
family's  cattle,  started  to  kick  some  stones 
lying  on  the  ground.  One  of  them  stubbed  his 
toe  on  something  ‘mega-heavy’  and  they  took 
the  rusty  old  object  home  with  them  to  town. 
This  was  later  identified  as  an  iron  meteorite. 


During  the  1950s  the  local  population  was  urged 
to  look  for  meteorites  in  the  area  and  several 
pieces  were  discovered  - some  of  them  extre- 
mely large,  each  weighing  over  a tonne.  One  of 
these  is  on  show  in  a museum  in  Prague.  There 
is  a story  of  how  a stone  cross  which  had  earlier 
been  placed  near  Muodoslompolo  had  caught 
fast  in  1989  because  of  something  resembling 
soft  iron.  Two  pieces  were  discovered  and  were 
able  to  be  saved  before  being  crushed. 
Meteorites  or  meteor  rocks  are  solid  bodies  of 
extra-terrestrial  origin  that  catch  fire  and  can 
split  up  in  the  earth’s  atmosphere  before  falling 
to  the  earth's  surface. 


The  Jaeger- LeCoultre *5  Master  Calendar  watch  in 
steel  (left  page)  and  rose  gold  with  a+meteorite  dial 


DEC 


I I 0024  WATCHWORLD 


1 1 1 29 


MARKETSCAN 


| | By  Lex  Stolk 


I I 


What  is  the  most  popular  Franck  Muller? 

CASABLANCA,  OR 
RATHER  LONG  ISLAND? 


Watches  with  individual  faces. 
The  vast  majority  of  watches  have 
a round  ‘face’  and,  for  that 
reason  alone,  cannot  really  be 
called  individualistic.  The  watches 
made  by  Franck  Muller  definitely 
have  their  own  identity,  as  the 
young  watch  house  is  easily 
recognised  by  - mostly  - non- 
round models  and  of  course  the 
graceful  Art  Deco  numerals  on 
the  dial.  But  which  tonneau- 
shaped, rectangular  or  square 
Franck  Muller  is  the  most 
popular?  We  asked  Chronolytics 
to  find  out. 


Casablanca 


30  i i i 


0024  WATCHWORLD  I I 


Watchmakers  who  establish 
their  own  brand.  It©  been 
done  in  Switzerland  for 
many  centuries,  but  not  so 
much  in  recent  times.  F.P.  Journe  and  Parmi- 
giani  Fleurier  are  recent  examples  of  master 
watchmakers  who  became  a brand.  The  same 
can  be  said  for  Greubel  Forsey,  but  Richard 
Mille,  for  example,  is  not  originally  a watch- 
maker. But  the  Swiss  Franck  Muller  is.  And 
the  Franck  Muller  watch  brand  makes  a range 
of  watches  that  are  more  accessible  than  the 
small-edition-big-price  watches  made  by  F.P. 
Journe  and  Greubel  Forsey.  To  put  it  simply: 
Franck  Muller  is  a striking  maison  in  the 
world  of  the  luxury  watch,  also  because  its 
sumptuous  creations  are  beloved  by  equally 
sumptuous  and  mediagenic  people  like  rapper 
50  Cent,  flamboyant  performer  Sir  Elton  John 
and  Chelsea  coach  Jose  Mourinho. 

Franck  Muller’s  entry  into  the  world  of  haute 
horlogerie  as  an  independent  brand  was 
complicated;  not  because  he  wasn®  accepted 
by  the  traditional  houses,  but  because  com- 
plications played  an  important  role  from  the 
very  first  moment.  Someone  who  debuts  with 
a rattrapante,  minute  repeater  with  calendar 
function  and  temperature  gauge  is  not  an 
ordinary  watchmaker,  so  the  moniker  ‘Master 
of  Complications’  the  house  uses  these  days 
does  not  come  as  a surprise.  After  graduating 
from  the  Ecole  ddSorlogerie  in  Geneva  in  the 
early  1980s  Franck  Muller  started  working 
as  a restorer  of  complicated  pocket  watches 
and  soon  after  he  presented  his  first,  hand- 
made wristwatch  with  tourbillon.  This  was 


TOP 

THE  FRANCK  MULLER  MODELS  MOST 
SEARCHED  FOR  ON  CHRON024.COM 
IN  EUROPE,  MEASURED  IN  THE  FIRST 
QUARTER  OF  2015 


MODEL  PERCENTAGES 


1 CASABLANCA 

20.02% 

2 CONQUISTADOR 

14.52% 

3 CINTREE  CURVEX 

7.48% 

4 LONG  ISLAND 

5.91% 

5 CONQUISTADOR  CORTEZ 

5.74% 

6 MARINER 

2.13% 

7 COLOR  DREAMS 

1.91% 

8 CRAZY  HOURS 

1.70% 

9 MASTER  SQUARE 

1.15% 

10  VEGAS 

0.96% 

OTHER  MODELS 

38.47% 

the  starting  point  of  his  worldwide  renown. 
Today  there  are  several  production  facilities 
(including  the  one  in  Genthod  where  it  all 
started)  and  more  than  500  Franck  Muller 
dealers  worldwide. 

Growing  body  of  work 

Over  the  years  Franck  Muller's  body  of  work 
(complications  and  less  complicated  creati- 
ons) has  grown  considerably  so  it  makes  sense 
to  ask  Chronolytics  to  find  out  for  us  which 
Franck  Muller  models  are  the  most-searched- 
for  on  Chrono24.com.  Is  it  the  voluptuous 
tonneau-shaped  Casablanca,  the  colourful  and 
insane  Crazy  Hours  or  rather  the  Master  Squa- 
re with  its  sharp  angles?  Thanks  to  Chronoly- 
tics we  can  see  which  Franck  Muller  watches 
are  searched  for  the  most  on  Chrono24.com, 
a website  that  consistently  has  over  90,000 


watches  for  sale  and  receives  an  astonishing 
3 million  unique  visitors  a month,  all  looking 
for  different  types  and  brands  of  watches. 

The  high-tech  data  analysis  of  Chronolytics 
enables  us  to  compile  rankings  for  different 
watch  markets.  Over  a three-month  period 
these  3 million  unique  visitors  are  monitored 
to  see  which  watches  offered  on  Chrono24. 
com  are  viewed  in  the  markets  of  the  Nether- 
lands, Belgium,  the  United  Kingdom  and 
the  four  Scandinavian  countries  Denmark, 
Norway,  Sweden  and  Finland.  Chronolytics 
conducts  its  analyses  based  on,  among  other 
things,  IP  addresses. 

It  is  remarkable  that  the  characteristic 
tonneau-shaped  Casablanca,  with  its  highly 
individualistic  dial,  tops  the  list.  The  Casa- 
blanca is  the  archetypal  Franck  Muller  watch 
and  is  a modern  mix  of  Swiss  precision  and 
circa  1930  American  watch  design.  It  gives  the 
Casablanca  with  its  rounded  tonneau  case 
a completely  unmistakable  and  obviously 
very  winsome  face.  The  Conquistador,  which 
comes  in  second  place,  may  be  considered  a 
more  modern  variant  on  the  tonneau  theme. 
More  sporty,  more  contemporary  and  more 
‘present’  than  the  Casablanca.  The  totally 
unique  Crazy  Hours  - the  personal  favourite 
of  the  editors  - with  its  confusing  hour  layout 
and  crazily  jumping  hour  hand  only  manages 
to  come  in  eighth  place.  This  watch  combi- 
nes the  typical  appearance  with  the  typical 
interior  of  a Franck  Muller,  as  the  Crazy  Hour 
modelsare  not  just  crazy  but  also  cleverly  con- 
ceived and  ingeniously  constructed.  Perhaps  a 
little  too  crazy  for  the  average  watch  lover.  ■ 


Conquistador 


Cintree  Curvex 


Long  Island 


Vegas 


I I 0024  WATCHWORLD 


1 1 1 31 


OPINION 


I I By  Lex  Stolk 


The  road  to  sustainable  luxury 


Here’s  a moral  question:  what  would  you  prefer,  a gold  watch  that  is  also  worn  by  a superstar  with  an 
astronomical  pay  cheque  or  that  same  watch,  but  this  time  your  purchase  makes  a sustainable  contri- 
bution to  a better  future  for  a group  of  miners  who  labour  in  very  difficult  conditions?  Good,  your 
heart  is  in  the  right  place.  Let's  substantiate  your  intuitive  choice  with  some  facts. 


Since  2013  family  business  Chopard 
has  been  supporting  a project  of  in- 
dependent miners  in  Colombia  who 
operate  a goldmine,  and  this  year  a 
second  mine  has  been  added.  The  programme, 
which  is  called  The  Journey  to  Sustainable 
Luxury  and  was  set  up  in  a collaboration  with 
Eco-Age,  now  also  supports  a goldmine  in 
Bolivia.  The  15  de  Agosto  Cooperative,  located  at 
an  altitude  of  4 kilometres  in  the  Andes  moun- 
tains, is  one  of  the  biggest  independent  coo- 
peratives with  198  miner  members,  including 
78  women,  and  the  cooperative  uses  fair  and 
sustainable  methods.  Exploitation,  underpay- 
ment, pollution  and  other  such  objectionable 
practices  must  become  a thing  of  the  past. 

Sustainable  mining 

It  is  a noble  endeavour,  which  Chopard  under- 
takes in  conjunction  with  an  influential  South 
American  mining  organisation,  the  Alliance 
for  Responsible  Mining  (ARM).  This  has  made 
it  possible  for  Chopard  to  become  the  first 
producer  of  luxury  watches  and  jewellery 
supporting  and  enabling  the  production  of 
certified  Fairmined  gold.  Thanks  to  the  efforts 
of  Chopard  and  ARM  the  first  small  mine  that 
has  been  receiving  support  since  2013,  the 
Coodmilla  Cooperative  in  La  Llanada,  which 


provides  jobs  to  a total  of  1,860  people,  will 
become  fully  Fairmined-certified  this  year.  It  is 
a project  that  takes  years  to  set  up  but  delivers 
a sustainable  result. 

The  satisfaction  all  this  gives  the  Scheufele 
family  is  huge.  “We  are  proud  that  the  first 
mine  is  becoming  Fairmined-certified”,  says 
Caroline  Scheufele,  Co-President  and  Artistic 
Director  of  Chopard.  “It  hasn®  always  been 
easy,  but  the  difference  we  can  ultimately 
make  is  more  than  worth  the  effort.”  Bro- 
ther Karl  Friedrich,  Co-President  of  Chopard, 
couldn®  agree  more.  “Investing  in  the  mine  in 
Colombia  and  the  new  mine  in  Bolivia  is  essen- 
tial to  support  the  lives  of  people  who  make 
our  business  possible.  More  than  a thousand 
families  benefit  from  our  involvement  in  the 
area  of  education,  environment,  and  various 
social  activities.  Because  of  our  ongoing  invol-  A 


L.U.C  XPS  FAIRMINED 

The  case  back,  the  middle  sectionof  the  case  and  the  bezel  of  the  new  L.U.C  XPS 
Fairmined  is  made  entirely  of  Fairmined  gold  and  comes  with  a certificate  to  prove  it. 
This  rose  gold,  39.5mm  case  houses  the  automatic  L.U.C  Calibre  96.1  2-L  chronometer 
movement.  The  beautifully  decorated  and  sublimely  finished  movement  shows  hours, 
minutes  and  seconds  on  a slate  grey  dial,  is  a mere  3.3mm  thick  and  is  equipped  with 
a microrotor.  The  double  spring  barrel  guarantees  a power  reserve  of  more  than  65 
hours.  Limited  edition  of  250  pieces. 


I I 0024  WATCHWORLD 


1 1 1 33 


vement  in  the  project  The  Journey  to  Sustaina- 
ble Luxury  will  continue  to  improve  the  future 
of  many  more  people.” 

Fair  and  unfair 

Mining  gold  in  fair  conditions  suggests  that 
there  is  also  gold  that  is  mined  in  unfair 
conditions.  And  that  is  true.  At  all  levels.  Last 
year  Barclays  was  fined  more  than  26  million 
pounds  Sterling  (32  million  euro)  for  gold  price 
fixing,  and  then  there  are  the  harrowing  cases 
of  children  labouring  in  life-threatening  con- 
ditions in  gold  mines  in  countries  like  Burkina 
Faso  and  Tanzania.  Not  a lot  of  fairness  there. 
But  honesty  is  the  best  policy;  it  is  often  more 
expensive  than  dishonesty,  but  ultimately 
gets  better  returns  - provided  those  returns 
are  expressed  in  more  than  just  monetary 
terms.  The  Fairmined  certificate  ensures  that 
mining  is  done  on  a small  scale  and  the  gold 
is  extracted  responsibly,  that  miners  and  the 
environment  are  treated  well  and  that  a bonus 
is  added  to  the  sales  price  of  the  gold,  intended 
to  be  used  for  reinvestment  in  the  community. 
The  honest -to-goodness  gold  that  arrives 


at  Chopard  in  Switzerland  receives  special 
treatment.  Chopard  is  one  of  the  few  watch 
houses  to  smelt  its  own  gold  in  its  manufacture 
in  Geneva.  A special  segregation  process  has 
been  developed  for  producing  a Fairmined  gold 
watch,  to  make  sure  that  the  'normal'  gold  isn (D 
mixed  in  with  the  special,  completely  fairly 
mined  gold.  The  first  watch  to  be  produced 
with  this  process  was  the  L.U.C  Tourbillon  OF 
Fairmined.  This  watch  forms  part  ofThe  Green 
Carpet  Collections  of  High  Jewellery,  a col- 
lection produced  in  accordance  with  the  ethical 
guidelines  of  the  Green  Carpet  Challenge  (GCC). 
This  year  a second  watch  was  added  to  the 


collection,  the  L.U.C  XPS  Fairmined,  a limited 
edition  of  250.  Slightly  more  expensive  than  a 
watch  from  the  collection  made  with  'normal' 
gold,  but  the  underlying  philosophy  is  that  the 
higher  price  supports  the  hard-working  Colom- 
bian and  Bolivian  communities  and  doesn® 
pad  the  bank  account  of  some  superstar  who 
is  definitely  not  needy.  Only  philanthropy  can 
provide  that  luxurious  feeling  of  being  able  to 
do  something  for  fellow  humans  who  don't 
have  it  so  good.  That  is  real  luxury.  That  is  the 
kind  of  luxury  that  everyone  should  want  to 
indulge  in;  sellers  and  buyers,  producers  and 
brands.  ■ 


OTHER  GOOD  EFFORTS 

Not  only  is  Chopard  doing  its  best  for  the  people  behind  the  gold  watches  and  jewel- 
lery, Cartier,  for  example,  promotes  sustainability  at  an  ecological,  social  and  economic 
level  and  the  house  is  the  co-founder  of  the  Responsible  Jewellery  Council  (RJC).  Car- 
tier’s gold  suppliers  are  also  required  to  comply  with  RJC  standards  and  the  guidelines 
of  the  London  Bullion  Market  Association  (LBMA)  regarding  responsibly  mined  gold. 
Another  example  is  jewellery  and  watch  house  and  fellow  RJC  member  Piaget,  which  is 
involved  in  a ‘traceable  gold’  project  that  was  set  up  by  parent  company  Richemont. 
Employees  of  the  project  visit  and  evaluate  all  gold  suppliers  and  encourage  them 
to  join  the  RJC.  More  than  90  percent  of  the  gold  used  by  Piaget  now  comes  from 
RJC-certified  suppliers  and  the  target  is  100  percent.  The  RJC  currently  has  more  than 
500  participating,  vastly  differing,  companies.  The  Code  of  Practices  of  the  RJC  covers 
things  like  human  rights,  employment  rights  and  transparency  regarding  environmental 
impact.  For  an  overview  of  the  participants  visitwww.responsiblejewellery.com  and  for 
further  information  about  Fairmined  gold  and  The  Journey  to  Sustainable  Luxury  please 
visitwww.chopard.com  and  click  on  ‘corporate  responsibility’. 


34  1 1 1 


0024  WATCHWORLD  I I 


»NOMOS  is  among  the  best 
luxury  watches  out  there. « 

NEW  YORK  TIMES 


GOOD 

DESIGN 


LUXE!  AWARDS  2014 


NOMOS 

GLAS  H UTTE 


Find  out  more  about  Ahoi  at 
nomos-watches.com  and  nomos-store.com 


#notforeveryone 

instagram.com/sarpanevawatches 


SARPANEVA 


BaselTimes 


www.0024watchworld.com 


BaselTimes 


1^  23  pages  BaselWorld  News 


Edition  32  - 2015 


INSTAGRAM 


OMEGA  GLOBEMASTER  ■- 


sterly 

next  23  pages  you  will  find  a conclu- 
overview  from  manufacturs  Alpina  to 
nith.  Als  o we  dive  just  a little  bit  deeper 
into  a trio  of  remarkable  watches  from 
Patek  Philippe,  Casio  and  HYT.  Apart  from  pre- 
senting you  the  latest  creations  we  also  report  and 
present  you  with  opinions  and  reflection  from  our 
editorial  staff  on  BaselWorld  2015. 


Up  close  and  personal  with  some  of  the  most  striking 
watches  presented  at  BaselWorld  2015. 


Omega  Globemaster 

Spotlight  Patek  Philippe 

BaselWorld  A to  Z 

Spotlight  Casio 

The  40mm  Club 

Instagram-impression 

BaselWorld  A to  Z continues 

BaselWorld  reflection 

Spotlight  Hyt  H3 


37 


Edition  32  - 2015 


www.0024watchworld.com 


BaselTimes  Omega 


Wednesday  evening,  18  March. 
Tomorrow  morning  BaselWorld 
2015  will  erupt,  but  tonight  Ome- 
ga wants  to  share  something 
with  us  in  advance.  Lights  off,  hit 
the  projector!  The  Globemas- 
ter  appears  in  the  picture.  Con- 
sternation all  around.  It  is  not 
a well-known  name,  is  it  a Con- 
stellation or  isnTt  it,  that  bezel 
looks  familiar  and  the  techni- 
cal details  about  the  movement 
sound  extremely  impressive 
and  promising.  So:  more  than 
enough  incentive  to  take  a closer 
look  at  the  Globemaster. 


To  aircraft  enthusiasts  the  name 
Globemaster  immediately  reminds 
them  of  the  G- 117  transport  plane, 
which  is  also  called  Globemaster.  And  watch 
lovers?  Only  dedicated  Omega  aficionados 
know  that  in  the  1950s  some  Constellations 
had  a dial  featuring  the  name  Globemaster. 
The  fact  that  this  name  does  not  immedi- 
ately ring  a bell  doesn’t  mean  you  aren’t  a 
true  watch  lover.  What  everyone  can  see  at  a 
glance,  is  that  the  Omega  Globemaster  is  a 
striking  watch.  That  applies  to  its  looks  and 
certainly  also  to  its  interior.  Judging  a book 
by  its  cover  is  wrong,  and  because  that  prin- 
ciple also  applies  to  watches  we’ll  start  with 

-O 

’ & ’fluted  bezel’ 


o- 


38 


Edition  32  - 2015 


www.0024watchworld.com 


[S-^  Omega 


BaselTimes 


what's  on  the  inside,  because  the  Globemas- 
ter  is  powered  by  Omega’s  technically  most 
advanced  mechanical  movement  to  date, 
and  that  movement  meets  strict  quality  con- 
trol requirements. 

GOSC  or  METAS? 

The  days  of  precision  competitions 
may  be  far  behind  us,  but  Omega 
remains  obsessed  with  making  the 
most  accurate  chronometer  movements 
possible.  This  obsession  caused  the  watch 
house  from  Biel  to  go  beyond  the  GOSC 
certification  that  is  common  in  the  indus- 
try In  December  last  year  Omega,  in  con- 
junction with  the  Swiss  Federal  Institute  for 
Meteorology  (METAS),  announced  a new 
certification  that  will  take  effect  in  2015. 
The  Globemaster  is  the  first  watch  tobe 
tested  and  certified  based  on  these  extreme- 
ly stringent  standards.  So  what  is  so  exacting 
compared  to  the  COSG  standards,  you  ask? 


In  addition  to  measuring  the  performance 
of  the  watch  under  day-to-day  conditi- 
ons, its  functioning  is  also  tested  when  the 
watch  is  exposed  to  strong  magnetic  fields 
of  15,000  gauss.  A watch  that  passes  the  test 
receives  the  METAS  certificate  and  can  use 
the  predicate  Master  Chronometer.  The  test 
is  not  exclusive  to  Omega.  The  independent 
METAS  institute  is  equally  happy  to  test 
and  certify  other  watch  brands.  The  Glo- 
bemaster remains  within  the  tolerances  of 
0 to  +5  seconds  per  day,  making  it  the  first 
Master  Chronometer  in  the  market. 

The  watch  owes  its  high  level  of  impertur- 
bable precision  to  the  calibre  8900  (used  in 
the  steel  and  steel-with-gold  models)  and  the 
8901  variant  (this  more  luxurious  version 
is  used  in  the  gold  Globemasters  and  fea- 
tures a rotor  made  of  Omega’s  proprietary 
Sedna  gold).  The  co-axial,  anti-magnetic 
calibres  have  a silicon  balance  spring  and  a 
vph  of  25,200,  or  3.5  Hz.  The  movement 
can  be  admired  through  the  sapphire  crystal 


case  back  and  the  eye  will  immediately  be 
drawn  to  themedallion  showing  an  observa- 
tory surrounded  by  a polished  sky  with  eight 
symbolic  stars  - one  star  for  each  METAS 
criterion.  The  medallion  is  prominently  pre- 
sent, but  fortunately  it  leaves  enough  space 
so  the  user  can  observe  the  revolutions  of 
the  rotor  and  the  ticking  of  the  movement. 
Omega  is  so  convinced  of  the  capabilities  of 
its  new  calibres  that  the  new  Globemaster 
comes  with  a full, 4-year  warranty 

Eclectic  design 

The  appearance  of  the  Globemaster  is  a 
good  example  of  eclectic  design.  A touch 
of  Constellation  in  the  form  of  a so-called 
‘pie-pan  dial’,  used  in  models  from  1952,  is 
combined  with  a ‘fluted  bezel’  that  was  also 
used  in  the  past  for  a Constellation  from 
the  1960s,  and  dates  back  even  further  to 
pre-1945  models.  It  is  a classic  design  - 
also  because  Omega  decided  to  use  a very 


39 


Edition  32  - 2015 


www.0024watchworld.com 


BaselTimes  i-  ^ 


Even  15,000  gauss  donft  effect  the  movement 


modest,  but  consequently  very  elegant  and 
distinguished,  partially  satin-finished  and 
polished,  slightly  convex  39mm  case  -made 
with  the  very  latest  materials.  Different 
materials  and  material  mixes  are  available  in 
various  colours,  as  well  as  a range  of  straps 
and  bracelets. 

So  let's  go  back  to  that  ‘fluted  bezel5.  It's 
worth  mentioning  that  the  grooved  bezelin 
the  steel  versions  is  made  of  extremely  hard 
and  therefore  highly  scratch-resistant  tung- 
sten carbide,  a ceramic  sapphire  crystal- 
made  of  tungsten  and  carbon,  but  of  course 
it's  all  about  the  look  of  this  bezel,  which 
everyone  associates  with  the  fluted  bezels 
used  by  Rolex.  And  Rolex  and  Omega  are 
nothing  short  of  arch  enemies.  It  is  a daring 
choice  on  the  part  of  Omega  to  present  the 
very  first  Master  Chronometer  watch  to  a 
roomful  of  ‘hungry5  and  pedantic  watch 
journalists,  knowing  that  the  bezel  of  the 
Globemaster  will  immediately  cause  raised 
eyebrows.  That  is  how  sure  Omega  feels 
about  this  classic  model  with  the  masterly 
precise  movement.  A masterly  move.  ^4 


The  eight  ^-1 


METAS-criteria 

1 • The  functioning  of  the  movement  during  exposure  to  a magnetic 

field  of  15,000  gauss 

2 • The  deviation  of  the  running  time  of  the  watch  in  six  positions 

3 . The  deviation  of  the  running  time  of  the  watch  between 

0 and  2/3  of  the  power  reserve 

4 • The  functioning  of  the  watch  during  exposure  to  a magnetic 

field  of  15,000  gauss 

5 • The  deviation  of  the  daily  precision  of  the  watch  after  exposure 

to  a magnetic  field  of  15,000  gauss 

6 • The  average  daily  precision  of  the  watch  in  a test  replicating 

daily  use  (six  positions,  two  temperatures) 


• The  power  reserve  of  the  watch  (autonomous  functioning 
without  winding) 


40 


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www.0024watchworld.com 


Patek  Philippe 


BaselTimes 


In  the  spotlight: 

Patek  Philippe 

Calatrava  Pilot  Travel  Time  Ref.  5524 


When  is  a watch  a success? 

When  it  sells  well.  That 
is  one  answer.  A com- 
mercial answer,  but  an  under- 
standable answer,  because  watch 
houses  want  to  make  money.  But 
what  is  a good  answer  today  may,  in  the 
long  term,  be  superseded  by  progressi- 
ve insight.  In  a world  that  is  maintained 
through  the  credibility  of  stories,  a 
short  anecdote  can  give  a watchhouse  a 
temporary  advantage  but  can  ultimate- 
ly quickly  lose  its  usefulness.  Too  cryp- 
tic? It  takes  a watchhouse  centuries  to 
establish  a position  and  create  a unique 
image.  The  house  does  this  by  making 
watches  that  tell  a certain  story.  The 


more  credible  and  genuine  the  story, 
the  more  successful  it  is.  The  historic 
story  of  Patek  Philippe  and  the  watches 
that  back  up  this  history  are  irrepro- 
achable. With  the  presentation  of  the 


Calatrava  Pilot  Travel  Time  all  afici- 
onados/admirers/collectors  abruptly 
look  upfrom  the  latest  edition  of  the 
Patek  Philippe  book.  Mixed  reactions 
follow.  Patek  is  praised  for  its  daring 


. . . calibre  324  S C FUS features  the 
latest  gadgets  like  a Gyromax®  balance  and  a 
Spiromax®  balance  spring  made  of  Silinvar® . . . 


- o- 

W 


and  rejuvenation,  but  also  criticised  for 
its  rather  un-unique  look  and  the  lack 
of  a clear  historic  origin.  Judging  by  the 
reactions  of  potential  buyers  and  dea- 
lers the  Calatrava  Pilot  Travel  Time  is 
a success.  After  all,  the  waiting  lists  are 
filling  up.  Is  this  a watch  that  belongs 
among  the  building  blocks  of  the  house 
of  Patek  Philippe?  Only  time  will  tell. 
After  this  contemplation  a quick  glance 
at  the  new  model.  The  automatic  cali- 
bre 324  S C FUS,  featuring  the  latest 
gadgets  like  a Gyromax®  balance  and 
a Spiromax®  balance  spring  made  of 
Silinvar®,  guarantees  the  ease  of  set- 
ting the  second  time  zone  with  day  and 
night  indicator  for  both  the  local  time 
and  the  time  at  home.  This  42mm  white 
gold  pilot  watch  for  the  happy  few  also 
has  a central  seconds  hand  and  a hand 
for  the  date  indicator.  The  Ref.5524  is 
a great  conversation  piece! 


41 


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BaselTimes  |i-^  Alpina 


Alpina  Startimer  Pilot 
Chronograph  Grande  Date 


Men  just  love  timepieces  that  look  important  and 
have  lots  of  stuff  on  them:  plenty  of  hands,  buttons, 
gauges  etc.  In  other  words,  chronographs.  And  if 
one  of  those  chronographs  looks  like  it  belongs  in 
a Spitfire  the  design  definitely  passes  the  taste  test. 
In  addition  to  a rugged  pilot  look  and  the  cherished 


chronograph  function  this  44mm  Alpina  Startimer 
Pilot  Chronograph  Grande  Date  also  has  a large 
date  indicator,  for  the  aficionado  and  connoisseur. 
The  robust  case  houses  a highly  accurate  and  care- 
free AL-372  quartz  movement. 


42 


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Bell  & Ross  Bremont 


Blancpain  BaselTimes 


Bell  & Ross 
BR  03-92 

Military  Type 

The  BR  01  is  the  ultimate  pilot  tool  produced 
by  Bell  & Ross,  but  with  its  case  of  42  instead  of 
47mm  the  BR  03  is  able  to  cope  with  everyday  life 
much  better.  Not  much  has  changed  to  the  look 
and  the  statement;  because  of  the  original  func- 
tionality the  BR  03  is  a timepiece  with  a unique 
shape.  The  case  of  this  latest  offspring  is  made  of 
lightweight,  scratch  resistant  and  colourfast  cera- 
mic and  the  khaki  dial  features  the  letters  ‘MT’ 
in  red,  referring  to  Military  Type.  The  combina- 
tion with  the  canvas  strap  is  very  military-looking, 
creating  an  urban  camouflage  watch.  Functional 
facts:  the  watch  is  powered  by  an  automatic  move- 
ment and  is  water  resistant  to  100m. 


Bremont  U-22 


Bremont  came  about  as  a result  of  two  aircraft  cra- 
shes. This  model  once  again  relates  back  to  a crashed 
airplane.  During  the  Gold  War  Gary  Powers  was 
shot  down  over  Russia  in  his  U-2  espionage  plane. 
Bremont  was  established  by  passionate  flyers  who 
lost  their  father  in  a plane  crash.  After  this  crash 
the  brothers  English  left  their  career  in  banking  and 
started  a watch  brand.  The  love  for  flying  endured 
and  the  name  Bremont  was  found  after  an  emer- 
gency landing  in  the  field  of  a French  farmer  called 
Bremont.  But  now  about  that  new  U-22  model.  Bre- 
mont previously  made  a watch  called  the  U-2  and 
that  model  has  now  evolved  in  the  form  of  the  U-22. 
The  chronometer-precise  U-22  has  a completely 
new  bezel  design  and  date  indicator. 


Blancpain  Bathyscaphe 
Ocean  Commitment 


The  Ocean  Commitment  Bathyscaphe  Chrono- 
graphe  Flyback  may  be  limited  to  250  pieces,  but 
it  is  doing  unlimited  good  for  the  preservation  of 
the  oceans.  The  Bathyscaphe  is  the  smaller,  more 
sophisticated  brother  of  the  instrumental  Fifty 
Fathoms  that  was  born  in  1956.  This  43mm  chrono- 
graph comes  many  generations  later  and  is  equip- 
ped with  Blancpain’s  latest  manufacture  movement, 
calibre  F385.  This  completely  new  column  wheel 
chronograph  movement  has  a high  frequency  of 


36,000  vph  for  extreme  accuracy  and  also  has  a 
silicon  balance  spring.  Blancpain  has  revealed  an 
amazing  33  new  proprietary  movements  since 
2006  and  the  F385  caters  to  chronograph  lovers. 
The  fact  that  the  chronograph  can  be  operated  to 
a depth  of  300m  is  also  worth  mentioning.  Diving 
chronographs  tend  to  become  ‘helpless5  under 
water  because  of  pushbuttons  that  are  only  water 
resistant  when  they  are  depressed.  Blancpain  has 
remedied  that  problem  with  a special  gasket. 


43 


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BaselTimes  Bulgari  Breitling  Bruvik 


Bulgari  Diagono 
Magnesium 


Platinum  may  be  a rare  material,  but  a plati- 
num watch  is  more  common  than  one  made 
of  magnesium.  The  41mm  Diagono  Mag- 
nesium is  a remarkably  light  watch  with  an 
extremely  strong  case.  Lightweight  definitely 
doesn't  mean  fragile.  That's  because  of  the 
use  of  the  space-age  materials  magnesium 
and  PEEK,  a polymer  that  can  handle  very 
extreme  conditions.  The  bezel  is  equally 


tough  because  it  is  made  of  highly  scratch 
resistant  ceramic.  The  dial  and  the  surface 
of  the  centre  part  of  the  case  are  coated  in 
so-called  ‘Motorlac5.  This  coating,  develo- 
ped by  Bulgari,  provides  an  extra  protective 
layer  and  looks  very  decorative  at  the  same 
time.  There  are  also  many  available  lacquer 
colours,  such  as  anthracite,  chestnut,  silver 
and  blue.  An  automatic  movement  shows  the 
time  and  date. 


Breitling 

Galactic 

Unitime 

SleekT 


This  steel  Galactic  Unitime  SleekT  is  a 
model  with  a flowing  shape  that  houses  the 
completely  new  and  extremely  ingenious  - 
because  of  its  ease  of  operation  - chronome- 
ter calibre  B35  with  world  time  function.  By 
turning  the  crown  the  user  can  set  various 
indicators  on  the  dial  and  any  date  changes 
are  immediately  incorporated  in  the  dif- 
ferent time  zones.  It's  not  only  this  functi- 
onality that  works  smoothly,  the  completely 
new  design  of  the  bezel  in  super-strong  and 
beautifully  contrasting  tungsten  is  equally 
smooth.  Evolutionary  sophistication  inside 
and  out. 


Bruvik  Svalbard  Automatic  Navigator 

Youthful  Norwegian  brand  Bruvik  is  proud  of  its 
Scandinavian  roots.  The  brand  drew  everyone's 
attention  when  it  presented  a watch  with  a capsule 
containing  water  from  a Norwegian  fjord  incor- 
porated in  the  back.  The  rugged  Svalbard  sports 
watch  - which  we  know  as  the  Spitsbergen  - was 
introduced  last  year  and  this  year  there  is  a blue 
variant  with  a special  dial  featuring  a map  of  the 
island  group.  An  automatic  ETA  movement  ticks 
in  the  steel  45mm  watch,  which  is  water  resistant 
to  300m.  A screwed-in  crown  and  a curved,  anti- 
reflective  sapphire  glass  crystal  are  also  standard 
features. 


continue  with  C on  page  52 


44 


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www.0024watchworld.com 


Casio 


BaselTimes 


In  the  spotlight: 

Casio  G-Shock  MRG-G1000RT 


Early  1980s,  Japan.  Kikuo 
Ibe  continues  to  smash 
watches  and  his  colleagues 
and  superiors  are  quietly  starting 
to  worry.  Ibe  refuses  to  stop  and 
in  1983  his  perseverance  is  rewar- 
ded and  his  colleagues  and  supe- 
riors are  reassured,  when  the 
shock-resistant  G-Shock  hits  the 
market.  The  vulnerable  watch  has 
been  rendered  invincible  by  means  of 
triple  protection  for  the  components, 
the  movement  and  the  case,  becoming 
first  an  American  and  then  a global 
success.  A household  name  even, 
which,  because  of  its  unique,  striking 
looks  and  practical  characteristics  is 
adored  by  everyone,  from  geeks  to 
nerds,  from  trendsetters  to  trend  follo- 
wers, from  rappers  to  rockers  and  from 
film  stars  to  everyday  heroes.  The  size- 
able watch  has  evolved  explosively  over 
the  years.  A modern  G-Shock  has  an 
analogue  time  display  for  a timeless 


look  and  a series  of  sensors  for  various 
functions.  Solar  energy  is  used  as  a 
power  source,  radio-controlled  techno- 
logy is  used  and  the  watches  are  made 
of  continuously  improved  and  new 
materials  for  greater  durability  (read: 
less  plastic,  more  metal).  Because  the 
watch  was  created  from  ingenious  mad- 
ness the  development  of  the  G-Shock 
has  never  been  conventional  or  restric- 


tive. The  absolute  high  point  in  the 
G-Shock  collection  is  the  MRG- 
G1000RT  that  was  presented  during 
BaselWorld.  A considerable  delegation 
of  Casio  representatives  presented  the 
model  with  its  case  made  of  a crystal- 
lised titanium  alloy  that  refers  to  the 
traditional  Katana  Samurai  swords. 
Only  100  copies  will  be  made  of  this 
special  model.  In  the  BaselWorld  booth 


o 

...  a DLC  coating  with  a subtle 
Japanese  blue’  glow  is  applied  and  gold 
is  used  in  the  movement ... 


designer  Kazuma  Kobayashi  - a young 
designer  who  is  following  in  the 
footsteps  of  the  legendary  Ibe  - 
explains  that  he  is  inspired  by  cars  and 
planes,  but  also  tanks.  A look  at  the 
new  MRG  confirms  his  story,  which  is 
told  in  ruggedly  shaped  titanium  and 
angular  details.  As  well  as  ruggedness 
there  is  also  room  for  sophistication, 
because  a DLC  coating  with  a subtle 
Japanese  blue’  glow  is  applied  and 
gold  is  used  in  the  movement  to  ensure 
the  best  possible  conductive  characte- 
ristics. With  respect  to  functions  the 
advanced  movement  system  that 
receives  both  GPS  and  radio  signals  for 
its  time  calibration  is  worth  mentio- 
ning, as  is  the  Dual  Dial  World  Time 
that  simultaneously  shows  the  time  int- 
wo  different  cities.  This  limited  and 
extremely  luxurious  G-Shock  high 
point  (for  now,  anyway)  costs  5,500 
euro.  ^4 


45 


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BaselTimes  i- *— 


The  40mm  Club 

4* 4^ 


And  the  magic  number  at  BaselWorld  2015  is  ...  40.  The  modest-sized  watch 
case  is  in  the  midst  of  an  unstoppable  advance.  Whereas,  until  recently,  many 
models  were  being  'upsized'  to  a bigger  case,  these  days  we  are  seeing  the 
reverse.  The  best  example  of  this  downsizing  trend  is  the  fact  that  Rolex  has 
reduced  the  size  of  its  showcase  watch,  the  Day-Date,  from  41mm  to  40mm. 


Rolex  Day-Date  40:  Small  President 


The  crowning  glory  of  the 
Rolex  collection  has  always 
been  the  Day-Date.  If  the- 
re were  such  a thing  as  a Most 
Coveted  Watch  of  All  Times  Com- 
petition the  platinum  version  of 
this  model  would  most  likely  take 
first  place.  Actually,  the  term  ‘crow- 
ning glory’  is  not  entirely  accurate 
because  the  Day-Date  is  blessed  with 
the  iconic  nickname  of  ‘Presidents’ 
watch’.  Until  this  year  the  watch  had 
an  imposing  41mm  case  size,  but  since 


BaselWorld  2015  this  model  has  been 
replaced  by  a variant  that  is  exactly  1 
mm  smaller.  Apart  from  a completely 
new  case  in  a choice  ofthe  precious 
metals  950  platinum,  yellow,  white  or 
rose  gold,  the  bracelet  of  the  Day-Date 
40  is  also  completely  new  and  impro- 
ved. Rolex  likes  to  do  things  properly, 
so  inside  the  case  there  has  also  been  a 
complete  change.  Of  course  the  inte- 
rior workings  are  once  again  hidden 
from  view,  but  based  on  a recent  fac- 
tory visit  and  on  the  information  we 
received,  we  can  tell  you  that  the  com- 
pletely new  Calibre  3255  that  ticks  in 
the  Day-Date  40  is  a highly  advanced 
piece  of  watchmaking  art.  Industria- 
lised watchmaking  art,  to  be  precise. 
Equally  precise  is  this  automatic  chro- 
nometer movement,  which  is  covered 
by  14  patents.  Furthermore,  as  Rolex 
tradition  demands,  the  movement  is 
robust  and  resistant  to  shocks  and  the 
deregulating  effects  of  magnetism. 
Rolex  wouldn't  be  Rolex  if  the  watch 
didn't  have  a component  with  a typi- 
cal Rolex  name,  as  well.  In  the  Calibre 
3255  that  is  the  new,  so-called  Chro- 
nergy  escapement,  which  regulates  the 


movement  with  extreme  precision  and 
efficiency.  You  can't  see  it,  but  you  will 
notice  the  effects  on  your  wrist.  And  of 
course  that's  what  Rolex  is  all  about. 


46 


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www.0024watchworld.com 


Tudor  [j3^  Longines  BaselTimes 


Tudor  North  Flag:  Modern  Manufacture 


We  have  been  watching  the 
slow  unfurling  of  Tudor 
for  some  years  now.  The 
wallflower  of  the  Rolex  family, 
which  appeared  unable  to  find  its 
own  identity,  has  gradually  been 
developing  into  a watchhouse  of 
character.  In  recent  years  the  brand 
mostly  managed  to  capture  hearts  with 
the  presentation  of  watches  like  the 
Black  Bay  and  the  Monte  Carlo,  which 
were  inspired  by  old  models.  A smart 
strategy,  because  it  generated  renewed 
attention  and  enthusiasm.  The  intro- 
duction of  the  titanium  Pelagos  was  one 
of  the  first  signs  that  Tudor  is  capable  of 
more  than  just  rehashing  the  past.  This 
year  Creative  Director  Davide  Cerrato 
made  it  abundantly  clear,  with  no  prior 
warning,  that  the  company  would  not 
be  representing  any  new  retro  models 
this  year.  It  is  time  for  new  things.  Com- 
pletely new  things,  in  fact,  because 
although  we  are  tempted  to  tell  the  story 
about  an  expedition  to  Greenland  in  the 
early  1950s,  and  the  reliable  North  Flag 
watches  worn  by  the  expedition  mem- 
bers, we  decided  to  let  the  past  take  care 
of  itself.  The  old  North  Flag  is  part  of  a 
past  journey  and  the  new  North  Flag  is 


the  start  of  the  journey  into  the  future. 
For  watch  lovers  that  journey  is  equally 
wild,  because  the  new  Tudor  houses  the 
very  first  movement  developed  and  pro- 
duced by  Tudor  itself.  In  a world  full  of 
‘manufacture5  movements  (note  the  deli- 
berate quotation  marks)  that  appears  to 
be  relatively  insignificant  and  certainly 
not  earth-shattering  news.  However,  it 
is,  because  knowing  that  until  recently 
Rolex,  as  the  big  brother,  had  the  sole 
right  to  use  proprietary  movements  and 
Tudor  had  to  make  do  with  purchased 
movements,  the  presentation  of  a manu- 
facture movement  is  a ground-breaking 


development.  Tudor,  the  brand  with 
the  shield  in  its  logo,  guards  the  Rolex 
crown  by  covering  the  bottom  end  of 
the  market  with  accessible,  suitably 
produced  models.  The  Black  Bay  has  a 
power  reserve  and  date  indicator  on  the 
dial  and  the  case  is  somewhat  reminis- 
cent of  the  famous  Rolex  Oyster  Quartz 
or  Tudor’s  own  Ranger  2 from  long  ago, 
but  mostly  it  is  an  original  design.  The 
Black  Bay  and  Monte  Carlo  gave  Tudor 
its  own  identity  and  with  the  introduc- 
tion of  the  automatic  chronometer  cali- 
bre MT5621  in  de  40mm  North  Flag 
Tudor  now  has  a soul,  as  well. 


Longines  Pulsometer 
Chronograph:  figured  out 


Talk  about  chronographs 
and  the  image  of  pilots 
or  racing  drivers  tends  to 
come  to  mind.  Steve  McQueen’s 
Monaco,  for  example.  Men  find  that 
cool. Racing  overalls,  speed,  danger, 
leather  jackets,  the  smell  of  petrol,  the 
roar  of  big  engines,  a watch  with  lots 
of  dials  and  gauges  on  the  wrist.  White 
doctors’  coats  are  generally  considered 
a lot  less  cool.  But  in  the  early  days 
chronographs  and  doctors  went  hand- 
in-hand.  Back  in  the  day  when  watches 
were  functional  instruments.  Back 


in  the  1920s,  when  Longines  made 
chronographs  that  were  the  inspira- 
tion for  this  Pulsometer  Chronograph. 
It  is  a physician's  watch  that  enables 
the  wearer  to  measure  a heartbeat 
thanks  to  the  scale  on  the  dial.  This 
reinterpretation  of  a classic  theme  for 
sophisticated  men  - as  opposed  to  rug- 
ged ones  - is  housed  in  a 40mm  case 
and  equipped  with  a modern  automa- 
tic movement.  The  indisputable  high 
point  of  the  Pulsometer  Chronograph 
is  the  single  pusher  that  starts,  stops 
and  resets  the  time  record’ 


47 


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BaselTimes  i-  s 


Christiaan  van  der  Klaauw 


Grand  Seiko  62GS  Hi-Beat: 

Completely  new 


- © - 


Do  you  know  the  difference 
between  recreation  and 
reinterpretation?  The 
correct  answer  is  2.4mm.  Allow  us 
to  explain.  In  1967  the  Japanese  Seiko 
presented  its  first  automatic  movement 
in  the  Grand  Seiko  collection,  with 
the  GS62.  The  original  62GS  had  a 
36.5mm  case.  Today  Seiko  is  presen- 
ting both  a recreation  of  the  original 
with  a marginally  bigger  37.6mm  case 
and  a more  modern  reinterpretation 
(these  are  the  words  used  by  Seiko, 
but  they  do  explain  the  concept  quite 
clearly)  in  a 40mm  case.  The  small  tri- 
bute is  food  for  purists;  the  slightly  lar- 
ger tribute  is  for  people  with  an  eye  for 
tradition  but  modern  wishes  and  pre- 
ferences. For  today's  much  bigger  man 


a 37.6mm  case  is  very  small  for  daily 
use.  Such  a petite  watch  will  invoke  a 
lot  of  unwanted  andunkind  comments. 
That  risk  is  avoided  with  the  40mm 
reference  SBGH037.  What  immedia- 
tely stands  out  about  this  watch  is  the 
asymmetric  positioning  of  the  crown. 
Another  beautiful  detail  is  the  supe- 
rior shine  of  the  case.  In  Japan  they 
frequently  reinvent  the  wheel  and 
with  the  so-called  ‘Zaratsu’  method 
Seiko  has  managed  to  take  polishing 
to  a higher  level.  When  it  comes  to 
the  movement  there  is  a lot  to  enjoy 
as  well,  because  the  extremely  rapidly 
ticking  hi-beat  36,000  calibre  9S85  is 
both  a technical  and  a visual  tour  de 
force.  Limited  to  1,000  copies. 


Christiaan  van  der  Klaauw 
Real  Moon  Joure  Tides: 

Waves  of  unity 


- © - 


Sometimes  you  want  to  keep 
something  you  love  close  to 
you.  If  you  love  vintage  air- 
craft or  Formula  One  cars  you  can 
buy  scale  models.  If  you  are  hooked 
on  the  moon  you  can  gaze  up  at  the 
sky  every  night  - and  frequently  get  fed 
up  with  the  cloud  cover  that  hides  your 
icon  - or  you  can  buy  a Christiaan  van 
der  Klaauw  Real  Moon  Joure,  enabling 
you  to  wear  a miniature  3-D  model  of 
your  beloved  moon  on  your  wrist.  And 
not  just  any  moon. This  watch  is  home 
to  the  world's  most  accurate  3-D  moon 


phase  that  deviates 
just  one  day  in  11,000 
years  (!).  This  impressively 
designed  watch  with  ditto  perfor- 
mance has  now  been  given  a sensa- 
tional extra  function.  A logical  func- 
tion, because  the  addition  of  a high/ 
low  tide  indicator  is  directly  associated 
with  the  moon.  High  tide  and  low  tide 
are  created  as  a result  of  the  gravitatio- 
nal pull  exercised  by  the  moon,  the  sun 
and  the  rotation  of  the  earth.  In  the 
new  Real  Moon  Joure  Tides,  which  is 
available  in  a steel  or  rose  gold  40mm 


case,  this  has 
been  beautifully 
depicted  in  a window  at 
12  o'clock.  The  window  shows 
the  waves  of  the  ocean  that  move 
up  and  down  in  a linear  fashion  in 
time  with  the  rhythm  of  the  tides.  The 
link  between  the  moon  and  the  tides  is 
visually  reinforced  because  both  com- 
plications are  officially  linked  on  the 
dial.  This  unites  heavenly  and  earthly 
aspects  in  an  astronomical  watch  that 
still  shows  the  ordinary  time,  as  well. 


48 


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www.0024watchworld.com 


Breguet 


Oris 


BaselTimes 


Breguet  Tradition  Automatique  Seconde 
Retrograde  7097:  Open  construction 


Breguet’s  Tradition  collec- 
tion can  be  called  traditio- 
nal, and  classic,  of  course, 
but  not  retro.  You  can’t  possibly 
call  modern  wristwatches  that 
hark  back  to  creations  from  the 
18th  century  retro,  that  is  the 
prerogative  of  watches  that  are 
inspired  by  much  more  recent 
models.  The  Automatique  Seconde 
Retrograde  7097  is  a watch  that  fits  in 
with  the  evolution  of  the  house  of  Bre- 
guet. A long  time  ago  old  Abraham- 
Louis  Breguetcreated  a pocket  watch 
where  the  user  could  tell  the  time  by 
feeling  the  hands,  for  those  dark  days 
without  electric  light.  The  Tradition 
Automatique  Seconde  Retrograde 
7097  is  a tribute  to  the  18th  centu- 
ry predecessor.  First  of  all  there  are 


At  first  glance  you  may  think 
“Oh  no,  not  another  retro 
model”,  but  upon  closer 
inspection  of  the  Oris  Divers  Six- 
ty-Five the  suspicious  watch  afi- 
cionado learns  that  this  is  about 
more  than  convenient  retro  just 
to  be  fashionable.  What  Oris  has 
done  is  translate  a vintage  model  from 
1965  into  a watch  for  today,  and  in  such 
a way  that  the  price  remains  extremely 
reasonable.  Let's  start  with  the  case  size. 
The  40mm  size  the  brand  has  opted  for 
may  be  called  contemporary,  but  it  is 
also  conservative  and  well-considered. 
The  company  decided  not  to  indiscri- 
minately blow  up  the  36mm  case  - the 
size  of  the  original  — into  a 40mm  case 


the  visible  bridges,  cogs,  spring  bar- 
rel and  escapement  that  reflect  the 
genius  of  the  watchmaker.  The  con- 
struction with  a parachute  shock  pro- 
tection mechanism  and  silicon  balan- 
ce spring,  and  the  flawless  yet  finely 
structured  finish  of  the  movement  do 
so  to  perfection.  The  small  dial  with 
the  refined  guilloche  at  12  o'clock  and 
the  typical  Breguet  hands  is  a direct 
reference  to  that  Touch  watch’  of  long 
ago.  Incidentally,  there  is  also  a slim, 
straight  retrograde  seconds  hand  that 
glides  across  this  small  dial  for  even 
more  haute  horlogerie  entertainment. 
Available  in  a white  or  gold  rose  gold 
case  with  the  vertical  decoration  that 
is  so  typical  of  Breguet  and  with  a 
weighted  diameter  of,  you  guessed  it: 
40mm. 


simply  because  that  would  result  in  a 
big,  rugged  watch.  At  40mm  the  Divers 
Sixty-Five  stays  connected  to  its  past 
and  the  striking  Superluminova  nume- 
rals that  look  like  they  are  made  of  the 
now  outlawed  radium,  the  shape  of  the 
case  and  the  convex  crystal  all  contribute 
to  that  effect.  Incidentally,  today's  con- 
vex crystal  is  made  of  scratch-resistant 
sapphire.  Convex  is  a lot  more  expensive 
than  flat,  but  only  convex  suits  this  model 
so  no  compromises  were  made. Like  the 
original,  the  Divers  Sixty-Five  with  its 
automatic  movement  is  water  resistant  to 
100m.  It  could  have  been  a more  modern 
300m,  but  that  would  have  made  the 
sapphire  crystal  a lot  more  expensive  - as 
it  would  need  to  be  thicker  - and  that  was 
not  the  company's  intention.  This  com- 
promise, the  only  one,  results  in  a price 
of  approximately  1,600  euro  and  that  is 
an  optimal  combination  of  vintage  expe- 
rience and  modern  values. 


Oris  Divers  Sixty-Five: 

Optimised 


49 


Edition  32  - 2015 


www.0024watchworld.com 


BaselTimes  Tekst  en  fotografie  Lex  Stolk 


An  Instagram  look  at 

BASELWORLD  2015  


These  atmospheric  pictures  constitute  just  a small  selection  of  what  we  saw,  felt 
and  wore  during  BaselWorld  2015.  To  see  many  more  special  watches  checkout 

our  0024watchworld  Instagram  page. 


S 0024WATCHWORLD 


#MEISTERSINGER 

Just  a single  hand,  but  still  a date  indi- 
cator plus  second  time  zone.  The  smart 
MeisterSinger  Adhaesio  uses  disks  for 
these  functions 


#HERMES 

The  new  Slim  d’Hermes,  this 
time  with  a strongly  coloured 
enamelled  dial 


#HYT 

The  HYT  Skull  is  without  a doubt 
the  ultimate  pirate  watch 


#UNIONGLASHUETTE 

Horology  from  Saxony;  Union 
Glashiitte  Noramis  Power  Reserve 
in  steel  with  a rose  gold  bezel 


#CASIO 

The  mould  for  the  case  of  the  Casio 
G-Shock 


#TAGHEUER 

The  charming  retro  style  of  the 
TAG  Heuer  Carrera  Calibre  7 


50 


Edition  32  - 2015 


www.0024watchworld.com 


An  Instagram  look  at  BaselWorld  2015 


BaselTimes 


#OMEGA 

Titanium  Omega  Ploprof 


#MAURICELACROIX 

The  Maurice  Lacroix  Pontos 
Extreme  has  a sandblasted 
Powerlite  case 


#PEQUIGNET 

The  Pequignet  Aviateur  in  black 
DLC  is  Tabrique  en  France” 


# S ARPANE  VA 

The  Koronoa  K10  Northern  Lights 
is  a glow  in  the  dark  creation  with 
hypnotizing  qualities 


#GLASHUETTEORIGINAL 

A selection  of  Glashiitte  Original  Pano- 
Matic  models  in  new  2015  colours 


#HUBLOT 

Hublot  Big  Bang  Italia  Indepen- 
dent and  matching  sunglasses 


# SEIKO 

Modelled  after  the  1967  original, 
the  Grand  Seiko  62GS  with  Hi- 
Beat  movement 


#TUDOR 

The  bluer-than-blue  Tudor  Pelagos 


#MANUFACTUREROYALE 

Manufacture  Roy  ale  with  both  a 
6 and  a 60-second  tourbillon 


51 


Edition  32  - 2015 


www.0024watchworld.com 


J |m$  ' Carl  F.  Bucherer  Chanel  Chopard 


Carl  F.  Bucherer 
Manero  Tour- 
billon  Limited 
Edition  2015  d 


Chanel  J 12- 
G.  10  Blue 
Chromatic 
38mm 


Chopard 


L.U.C  Qua- 
lite Fleurier 


Swiss  jeweller  and  watchmaker  Carl  F.  Bucherer 
presents  a proprietary  tourbillon  in  a strictly  limi- 
ted edition  of  188.  The  rose  gold  Manero  Tourbil- 
lon Limited  Edition  2015  has  a brushed  dial  in  an 
almost  velvety  brown  colour  that  was  created  espe- 
cially for  Carl  F.  Bucherer.  The  tourbillon  move- 
ment is  based  on  one  of  the  house’s  own  manufac- 
ture calibres  and  has  been  renamed  GFB  T1001. 
The  movement  has  a power  reserve  of  70  hours 
and  the  remaining  power  can  be  seen  at  9 o'clock. 
The  other  functions,  in  addition  to  the  time,  are  a 
date  indicator  using  a third  hand  and  a 24-hour 
indicator  at  12  o'clock. 


Watches  for  insiders.  The  watches  from  the  Cho- 
pard L.U.C  Collection  are  the  stuff  connoisseurs 
dream  of.  The  creations  featuring  the  initials  of 
founder  Louis  Ulysse  Chopard  are  among  the 
absolute  top  and  with  the  L.U.C  Qualite  Lleurier 
the  house  aims  even  higher.  This  new  watch  meets 
three  very  stringent  watch  criteria  in  the  area  of 
precision  and  aesthetics:  COSC,  Chronofiable  and 
Fleuritest.  This  earns  the  L.U.C  Qualite  Lleurier 
a certificate  from  the  Lleurier  Quality  Loundation. 
The  39mm  rose  gold  watch  exudes  tradition  and 
the  automatic  L.U.C  96.09  calibre,  in  addition  to 
its  technical  excellence,  is  also  the  quintessence  of 
beauty. 


Some  houses  can  get  away  with  anything.  A J 1 2 
with  a NATO  strap?  Surely  that  would  never 
work?  Tastes  differ,  obviously,  but  theJ12-G.  10  in 
blue  with  a thin,  alligator  NATO  strap  looks  very 
tasteful.  At  Chanel  they  think  that  today's  woman 
is  ready  for  a militarily  style  model.  The  result  of 
that  thought  certainly  looks  convincing  enough. 
The  case,  made  of  titanium  and  ceramic  and 
water  resistant  to  200m,  is  indisputably  charisma- 
tic and  characteristic  and  is  home  to  an  automa- 
tic movement  with  a 42-hour  power  reserve.  Lor 
the  ladies,  obviously,  but  who  knows?  Maybe  also 
for  male  style  aficionados  and  lovers  of  the  finer 
things  in  this  world. 


52 


Edition  32  - 2015 


www.0024watchworld.com 


Eberhard  & Co.  Gertina 


Frederique  Constant  BaselTimes 


=RsJ  Eberhard  & Co. 

Tazio  Nuvolari  336 


A name  that  sounds  like  a poem,  but  that  is  not  the 
only  reason  to  remember  it.  Italian  racing  driver 
Tazio  Nuvolari  set  a world  speed  record  in  1935 
by  clocking  336  km/h  in  his  Alfa  Romeo  16G  on 
the  motorway  between  Florence  and  Mare.  Eber- 
hard & Go.  is  commemorating  this  feat  with  a new 
Tazio  Nuvolari  model  that  refers  to  that  incredible 
speed.  The  Nuvolari  336  has  a second  time  zone  at 
6 o'clock  that  guarantees  perfect  readability.  The 
automatic  ETA  calibre  2892-2  used  for  the  watch 
is  housed  in  a steel  45mm  case  with  a ceramic, 
GNG  engraved  bezel.  This  production  method 
results  in  a beautiful  3-D  effect. 


Frederique  Constant 
Classics  Manufacture 


Certina 
Chronographe 
DS-8  Phase  de 
Lune 


Worldtimer 


Navy 


Blue 


Tradition  and  modernity  can  sometimes  be  mixed 
beautifully.  Gertina  has  combined  these  two  ele- 
ments and  this  chronograph  with  moon  phase 
indicator  in  a 41mm  case  is  the  successful  result. 
The  anthracite  dial  with  sunburst  motif  is  a classic 
element,  the  Precidrive  quartz  movement  that  is 
tirelessly  accurate  and  shows  the  different  functi- 
ons in  an  original  way  is  the  modern  touch  in  this 
watch  composition.  At  Gertina  they  have  an  eye 
for  detail,  as  evidenced  by  the  12-hour  indicator 
that  can  be  seen  in  the  60-minute  counter  of  the 
chronograph,  and  the  moon  phase  indicator  has 
also  been  designed  with  subtlety  and  depth. 


The  heart  of  this  Worldtimer  is  the  FC-718  manu- 
facture calibre  with  automatic  winding.  The  ope- 
ration of  the  world  times  using  the  crown  is  inge- 
niously simple.  No  extra  crowns  or  pushers  are 
needed  to  manipulate  the  entire  world.  Or  at  least 
the  world  time.  This  is  an  existing  model,  but  it  is 
now  presented  in  a navy  blue  version,  a colour  that 
looks  good  on  the  model.  There  is  a good  reason 
we  call  earth  the  Blue  Planet  so  a world  time  watch 
in  blue  is  obviously  a natural  and  logical  creation. 


53 


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BaselTimes  i~  Graham  i-*" Ja<iu" d,«7 


Graham 
Silverstone 
RS  GMT 


This  steel,  46mm  Silverstone  RS  GMT  is  a size- 
able fellow  with  an  extravagant  appearance,  but 
also  subtlety  and  style.  The  automatic  chrono- 
graph movement  has  a flyback  function  that  ena- 
bles it  to  spring  back  to  zero  in  the  middle  of  a 
time  recording  and  restart  immediately  There  is 
also  a second  time  zone  indicator  so  the  wearer  is 
not  short-changed  when  it  comes  to  functionality 
Oh,  and  let's  not  forget  the  big  date  display  This 
mechanism,  which  loudly  and  clearly  displays  the 
date  using  two  separate  discs,  is  a well-thought-out 
and  respected  piece  of  watch  technology. 


Jaquet  Droz  The  Bird 
Repeater  Geneva  Edition 


A birdcage  with  a diameter  of  47mm  would  seem 
to  be  on  the  small  side  - certainly  for  two  adult 
birds  and  a nest  filled  with  two  babies,  as  well. 
Still,  Jaquet  Droz  has  managed  to  find  a comfor- 
table home  for  these  feathered  friends.  The  birds 
are  happy,  as  evidenced  by  the  cheerful  sounds 
they  produce.  But  all  joking  aside:  this  mechani- 
cal creation  with  singing  birds  is  too  astonishing  to 
fully  get  the  effect  across  in  mere  words.  The  Bird 
Repeater  Geneva  Edition  fits  in  with  the  tradition 
of  the  house  that  goes  back  to  the  18th  century 
and  has  not  lost  any  of  its  splendour  in  all  those 
centuries.  Jaquet  Droz  previously  made  a watch 
with  songbirds  and  this  is  the  latest  edition,  limited 
to  eight  pieces.  It  is  equipped  with  minute  repe- 
tition and  features  hand-engraved  and  painted 
goldfinches  that  move  when  the  mechanism  is  acti- 
vated. A watch  with  and  for  goldfinches,  because 
its  price  tag  is  416,600  euro. 


54 


Edition  32  - 2015 


www.0024watchworld.com 


JJP&9  MeisterSinger 


Nomos  Glashiitte 


BaselTimes 


MeisterSinger 
Adhaesio 


A second  time  zone  without  a second  hand.  The 
single-hand  tradition  does  not  allow  MeisterSin- 
ger from  the  German  town  of  Munster  to  use  a 
second  or  even  third  hand.  However,  this  doesn’t 
constitute  a problem  for  the  watch  house  and  it 
shows  its  mastery  with  this  limitation.  For  example, 
there  was  already  a beautiful  chronograph  based 
on  that  single  hand,  and  with  the  introduction 
of  the  40mm  Adhaesio  there  is  now  a model  that 


is  capable  of  displaying  a second  time  zone.  The 
familiar  single  hand  shows  the  local  time  and  an 
arrow  points  at  the  second  time  on  a ring  with  a 
24-hour  scale.  In  other  words,  the  obstacle  was  cir- 
cumvented by  using  a disc  instead  of  a traditional 
hand.  A second  disc  shows  the  date.  The  end  result 
offers  extra  functionality  without  compromising 
the  purity  of  the  Adhaesio  with  its  automatic  ETA 
2893  movement. 


Nomos  Glashiitte  Tangente  Automatik 


A watch  with  an  ultra-modern  and  technically 
sophisticated  manufacture  movement  with  a price 
tag  of  ‘just’  2,600  euro.  The  Tangente  Automatik 
offers  technology  and  sober  aesthetics  for  watch 
lovers  who  like  to  keep  things  understated.  The  new 
Tangente  Automatik,  which  is  a mere  6.9mm  high,  is 
powered  by  the  calibre  DUW  3001.  This  movement 
is  thin,  small  and  highly  accurate.  This  automatic 


watch  is  only  0.3mm  higher  than  the  hand- wound 
variant,  and  that  is  a remarkable  feat.  Calibre  DUW 
3001  is  built  to  such  minute  tolerances  - they  were 
actually  reduced  by  50%  in  the  production  - that  it 
results  in  accuracy  and  small  dimensions.  This  also 
means  that  a large  number  of  components  had  to  be 
completely  redesigned  and  built.  The  company  did 
it  - and  at  a surprisingly  modest  price. 


55 


Edition  32  - 2015 


www.0024watchworld.com 


BaselTimes  Pequignet  Qlock  Two  Rolex 


Pequignet 

Aviateur 


The  Jura  region  is  known  for  the  many  watch 
houses  that  are  based  there,  and  Pequignet  is 
one  of  them.  In  the  case  of  Pequignet  we  are  tal- 
king about  the  French  part  of  the  Jura,  not  the 
Swiss  side.  Pequignet  is  based  in  Morteau,  which 
is  almost  on  the  border  with  Switzerland  - there 
is  even  a direct  train  connection  with  Neuchatel, 
which  reflects  the  boundary-free  history  of  the 
area.  The  Aviateur  is  the  first  pilot  watch  built 
by  Pequignet.  It  didn’t  end  up  a particularly 
adventurous  or  different  pilot  watch.  Not  some- 
thing typically  French.  It  is  a design  that  owes  its 
inspiration  to  models  from  the  1930s.  This  results 
in  a recognisable  shape  and  a clear  dial  with 
strong  hands  that  show  the  time  prominently. 
The  42mm  watch  uses  an  automatic  movement, 
is  water  resistant  up  to  100m  — very  practical 
and  is  available  in  steel  or  steel  with  a black  DLG 
coating.  The  Fleur-de-Lys  logo  on  the  crown  is 
extremely  French. 


Qlock  Two 


Captain  Biegert  and  Captain  Funk  - the  names  on 
the  two  business  cards  - are  the  inventors  of  the 
Qlock  Two.  The  two  creative  friends  have  an  adver- 
tising background,  but  when  they  conceived  of  the 
idea  of  a clock  that  shows  the  time  in  normal  human 
language  they  said  goodbye  to  that  fast-paced  world. 
Never  before  has  someone  who  is  late  been  reminded 
of  that  fact  so  pleasantly.  The  time  is  easy  to  read 
and  not  in  any  way  obtrusive.  In  the  first  instance 
it  took  some  figuring  out  to  come  up  with  a suitable 
matrix,  but  once  that  puzzle  had  been  solved  virtu- 
ally any  language  on  this  planet  could  be  made  to 
work  with  the  Qlock  Two  clocks  and  watches.  Fin- 
nish and  Flungarian  are  the  tricky  exceptions,  but 
Arabic,  Japanese  and  Chinese  are  possible.  Arabic  in 
particular  is  graphically  beautiful  and  almost  orna- 
mental. Swiss-German  is  also  possible  as  you  can  see 
in  this  cherry  red  version,  which  mainly  looks  cute. 


Yacht-Master 


Of  some  watches  it  is  immediately  obvious  that 
they  will  charm  a lot  of  people.  This  latest  ver- 
sion of  the  Yacht-Master  has  everything  to  storm 
the  hit  lists:  the  case  of  contrasting  black  with  rose 
gold  and  a sporty  strap  that  appears  to  be  made 
of  rubber.  Appears  to  be,  because  to  so-called 
Oysterflex  strap  is  made  of  elastomer  with  an 
extremely  flexible  metal  strip  inside.  This  ensures 
greater  durability  and  increased  wearer  comfort, 
says  Rolex.  It  also  gives  the  new  Yacht-Master  a 
look  that  is  appreciated  by  many.  Luxury  watches 
with  rubber/acrylic  straps  are  a regular  feature  in 
many  brand  catalogues  and  now  this  combo  is  fea- 
tured in  the  Rolex  catalogue  as  well.  What's  more, 
the  Yacht-Master  is  available  in  37mm  and  40mm. 
Double  bonus. 


56 


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TAG  Heuer  Tissot  Zenith  BaselTimes 


TAG  Heuer 
Monaco  V4 
Phantom 

The  Monaco  V4  Phantom  with  its  41  x 41mm 
case  made  of  Carbon  Matrix  Composite  (CMC) 
looks  like  a stealth  fighter  but  is  really  only  a wrist- 
watch.  The  ominous  black  colour  is  the  result  of 
the  light  and  strong  carbon  fibre  that  is  also  used 
for  the  seven  bridges  of  the  movement.  The  move- 
ment in  question  is  the  iconic  V4  calibre,  a unique 
piece  of  avant-garde  technology.  The  diaphanous 
acrylic  belts  used  in  the  movement  take  the  place 
of  traditional  cog  wheels,  resulting  in  an  endless, 
hypnotic  mechanical  spectacle.  The  Monaco  V4 
Phantom  comes  in  a limited  production  and  its 
price  ensures  there  will  also  be  a limited  number 
of  buyers. 


Tissot  T-Touch 
Expert  Solar 


No  more  remakes  of  models  from  the  1950s  or 
60s;  it's  time  for  the  innovative  and  progressive 
Tissot  T-Touch  Expert  Solar.  This  light-powered 
watch  is  a modern  icon  for  Tissot  and  this  speci- 
fic model  is  a navigator  for  the  wrist.  The  com- 
pass ensures  that  the  wearer  will  never  get  lost 
and  the  other  19  functions,  activated  by  a push 
on  the  crystal,  make  this  multi-instrument  watch 
complete  and  easy  to  operate.  All  this  cleverness 
is  packaged  in  a case  of  anti-magnetic  titanium 
that  is  water  resistant  to  100m  and  has  been  given 
a scratch  resistant  coating  of  black  PVD.  Because 
appearance  matters  as  well  different  straps  and 
bracelets  are  available  - from  leather  to  rubber 
and  titanium  - as  well  as  dials  in  different  colours. 


Zenith 

Academy 

Georges 

Favre-Jacot 


A watch  made  of  797  components,  575  of  which 
are  needed  to  make  the  fusee  and  (18cm)  chain 
transmission  of  the  highly  complicated  movement. 
We're  talking  about  a strictly  limited  and  expen- 
sive birthday  watch.  Birthday  as  in  ‘anniversary 
piece’,  not  ‘present’.  Zenith  was  established  in  Le 
Locle  150  years  ago  by  passionate  watchmaker 
Georges  Favre-Jacot,  who,  among  other  things, 
build  a system  consisting  of  a fusee  and  minuscule 
chain.  In  the  ship’s  chronometers  of  that  time  this 
transmission  mechanism  provided  highly  accurate 
functioning  because  it  enabled  a consistent  sup- 
ply of  power  from  the  main  spring.  In  the  150th 
anniversary  model,  the  Academy  Favre-Jacot,  that 
mechanism  has  been  made  even  smaller  to  fit  it 
into  a 45mm  watch.  The  result  is  astonishing.  The 
price  won’t  be  mentioned  on  this  birthday.  That  is 
just  not  done. 


57 


Edition  32  - 2015 


www.0024watchworld.com 


BaselTimes  By  Kristian  Haagen 


BaselWorld  once  again  proved  that 
not  much  could  shake  the  watch 
world.  Not  even  smartwatches  or 
crazy  currencies. 


- o- 


On  January  15th  I casual- 
ly checked  the  currency 
app  on  my  iPhone  and 
seeing  the  Swiss  Franc  (CHF),  I 
thought  there  was  some  kind  of 
software  malfunction. 

In  shock,  I actually  rebooted  my  iPho- 
ne, as  I could  not  believe  what  I saw:  a 
mindboggling  20  percent  move  against 
the  euro. 

My  iPhone  was  not  malfunctioning. 
The  Swiss  National  Bank  had  decou- 
pled the  CHF  from  the  EUR  without 
warning,  generating  shockwaves 
throughout  Swiss  industry;  here’s  a 
tweet  from  Swatch  Group  CEO  Nick 
Hayek:  “Words  fail  me.  Today’s  SNB 
action  is  a tsunami;  for  the  export 
industry  and  for  tourism,  and  finally 


for  the  entire  country.”  The  financial 
markets  appeared  to  agree  with  Hay- 
ek: The  benchmark  20-company  Swiss 
Market  Index  dropped  10  percent, 
wiping  133  billion  francs  off  its  value, 
according  to  Bloomberg. 


The  Smartwatch  Tsunami 

Not  surprisingly  the  decision  to  remo- 
ve the  peg  was  on  everybody’s  lips 
when  the  annual  SIHH  watch  fair  in 
Geneva  in  January  opened  a few  days 
later.  Add  to  this  the  launch  of  the 
Apple  smartwatch,  and  only  a Profes- 
sor Pangloss  wouldn’t  be  harbouring 
dark  thoughts  about  the  future  for  the 
Swiss  export  industries.  Would  the 
arrival  of  the  smartwatch  create  a new 
slump  like  we  saw  in  the  1980s,  when 
cheap  Japanese  quartz  movements 
paralyzed  the  traditional  Swiss  watch 
industry?  Most  CEO’s  gave  the  same 
stern  answer,  though:  “No”. 

No  Fear 

Sylvie  Ritter,  the  managing  director  of 
BaselWorld  agreed  with  her  colle- 
agues, and  on  the  opening  day  of 
BaselWorld  she  told  us:  “Smartwat- 
ches have  been  on  the  market  for  years 
already.  There  has  already  been  a lot 
of  press  excitement  about  these,  but 
they  have  yet  to  be  a real  threat  to  tra- 


ditional watch  making.  They  are  two 
fundamentally  different  worlds.  One  is 
about  expertise,  emotion  and  enduring 
appeal.  The  other  focuses  on  the  tech- 
nological aspects. “ 

Francois  Thiebaud,  who  doubles  as 
CEO  for  Tissot  and  chairman  of  the 
BaselWorld  Swiss  Exhibitors  Commit- 
tee, said  ’’The  crisis  in  the  1980s  was 
different.  Smartwatches  are  a whole 
different  breed  and  instead  of  seeing 
them  as  a threat  to  mechanical  watch 
making,  I rather  see  them  complement 
each  other  and  I am  sure  they  can 
co-exist.” 


The  Winning  Currency 

So... where  are  we?  Shivering  with  anti- 
cipation, waiting  for  a big  Smartwatch 
tsunami  to  hit  the  valleys  of  Switzer- 
land wreaking  further  havoc  following 
the  currency  debacle?  Perhaps  I am 
sentimental,  but  I can’t  help  it:  I fully 
agree  with  Ritter  and  Thiebaud.  The 
traditional  watch  making  industry  has 
too  much  momentum,  too  much  histo- 
ry, too  much  savoir  vivre,  just  too  much 
emotional  appeal.  Emotional  appeal  is 
a currency  accepted  everywhere  in  the 
world  and  cannot  be  de-pegged  by  a 
central  banker.  I could  be  wrong  of 
course.  But  I don’t  think  so.  The  die  is 
cast.  Let  the  best  watch  win. 


Girard-Perregaux'  NeoTourbillon  with  Three  Bridges  Combines  e— 
ultimate  watchmaking  skills  with  a lot  of  emotions  and  stories 


58 


Edition  32  - 2015 


www.0024watchworld.com 


HYT  H3 


BaselTimes 


In  the  spotlight: 

HYT  H3 


The  hydromechanical  al- 
chemists at  HYT  caused  a 
furore  with  the  revolutio- 
nary HI,  created  even  more  room 
for  astonishment  with  the  techni- 
cally improved  H2  and  let  loose 
with  the  Skull  - a green  or  red 
creation  with  or  without  dia- 
monds but  always  with  a liquid 
that  outlines  the  skull  and  shows 
the  time.  However,  at  BaselWorld  it 
was  time  for  an  entirely  new  concept 
which,  in  nearly  all  aspects,  deviates 
from  the  round  liquid  predecessors. 
Deviates  in  nearly  all  aspects,  because 
the  hydromechanical  foundation  defi- 
nes HYT  and,  of  course,  is  the  basis 
of  the  new  model  which  is  called  H3  - 
no  surprises  there.  The  name  is  the 
only  unsurprising  thing  about  this 
exotic  wrist  machine  which,  in  the  cor- 
ridors of  the  Watch  Fair,  was  already 
being  compared  to  a typewriter.  But 
the  H3  obviously  isn't.  The  H3  is  a 
watch.  Still,  working  out  how  the 
watch  functions  and  how  to  read  the 
time  requires  some  attention.  Here  we 
go.  The  basis  of  the  mega-complica- 
ted  H3  is  the  fluorescent  liquid  pump- 
ed through  a tube  along  a linear  hour 
display.  This  hour  display  is  also  unu- 
sual, because  it  consists  of  six  cubes 
with  sides  numbered  0 through  23. 
The  power  of  the  liquid  tips  the  series 
of  blocks  that  enable  a 24-hour  dis- 
play and  after  each  six-hour  cycle  the 
liquid  races  back  to  the  start.  That  is 
retrograde  2.0!  The  minutes  can  be 
read  in  the  bottom  right-hand  corner. 
Of  course  a traditional  seconds  hand 
would  be  unacceptable  so  a linear 
minute  display  was  constructed.  A red 
articulated  arm  sweeps  across  a minu- 
te scale  and  when  the  hand  reaches  60 
it  moves  back  to  0.  Compare  the  con- 
struction of  the  seconds  hand  with  the 
drive  arm  of  a steam  train.  The  com- 


bination of  form  and  movement  makes 
for  a fascinating  spectacle  and  it  is 
immediately  obvious  that  there  is  a 
wealth  of  technical  knowledge  behind 
this  watch.  Correct.  The  H3  was  deve- 
loped in  conjunction  with  the  compli- 
cation specialists  at  APRP  (Audemars 


Piguet  Renaud  & Papi).  The  HYT  H3 
measures  62mm  x 41mm  and  the 
'watch  theatre'  is  housed  in  anthracite 
PVD-coated  titanium  and  platinum. 
Only  25  copies  will  be  made  and  the 
price  will  be  approximately  280,000 
euro.^1 


& 

— o — 


. . . fluorescent  liquid  pumped  through  a tube 
along  a linear  hour  display  . . . 


-©- 

W 


59 


BACKGROUND 


I I By  Lex  Stolk 


I I 


PERSONAL 


The  watch  around  a person’s  wrist  is  an  expression  of  his  or  her  perso- 
nality. But  although  the  watch  listed  in  the  catalogue  may  be  produ- 
ced in  a small  edition,  that  edition  is  identical.  Those  who  truly  want 
to  be  different  wear  something  unique.  A personally  selected,  different 
strap  is  a good  place  to  start.  We  are  looking  for  a personal  strap. 


60  i i i 


0024  WATCHWORLD  I I 


Tflne  importance  of  the  watch  strap 
continues  to  increase.  The  focus  on 
the  connecting  part  between  the 
watch  and  the  wrist  is  growing. 

The  number  of  small  and  enterprising  watch 
strap  makers  is  increasing,  the  product  range 
of  the  traditional  strap  makers  is  getting 
bigger  and  the  watch  houses  themselves  are 
also  starting  to  take  the  strap  more  seriously. 

In  2015  the  watch  strap  is  no  longer  the 
afterthought,  because  a special  strap  allows  a 
watch  producer  to  differentiate  as  well.  And 
so,  for  example,  we  see  straps  at  IWC  that  bear 
the  name  of  renowned  Italian  shoemaker  San- 
toni,  and  Parmigiani  Fleurier  uses  straps  that 
are  hand  made  by  the  leather  specialists  at 
Hermes  to  add  extra  splendour  to  its  watches. 
Luxury  brand  Montblanc  has  been  making 
watches  since  1993  but  obviously  has  a lot  of 
writing  implements,  sunglasses,  fragrances 
and  - since  1926  - a comprehensive  selection  of 
leather  goods  in  its  catalogue  as  well. 

In  the  pelletteria 

Makers  of  leather  bags  and  belts  can  make 
watch  straps  as  well,  and  that  is  what  Mont- 
blanc is  doing  now.  We  are  visiting  the  Centre 
For  Excellence  in  Leather  Craftsmanship  in 
the  Montblanc  Pelletteria  in  Scandicci,  on  the 
outskirts  of  Florence,  the  Tuscan  city  with  an 
age-old  tradition  when  it  comes  to  leather- 
work.  If  we  go  back  even  further  in  the  history 
ofMontblanc  we  see  that  a leather  workshop 
was  initially  established  in  the  German  Offen- 
bach - as  early  as  1935  - to  be  able  to  meet  the 
growing  demand  forpen  cases  and,  later,  other 
accessories  as  well.  But  still,  the  ‘pelletteria’ 
was  established  in  Florence  in  2006  because 
the  house  wanted  to  raise  its  own  standards 
in  the  heart  of  the  leather  industry.  And  it 
managed  to  do  so.  With  the  help  of  the  talen- 
ted local  craftsmen,  and  using  the  best  hides 
from  the  tanneries  in  the  nearby  Santa  Croce, 
an  increasingly  comprehensive  and  improved 
collection  was  created.  And  that  collection 
now  also  features  watch  straps. 

Traditions  play  a major  role  when  it  comes  to  A 


I I 0024  WATCHWORLD 


1 1 1 61 


^ Florence  is  famous  for 
its  traditional  role  as 
capital  of  the  leather 
industry.  Only  logical 
Montblanc  has  founded 
its  own  pelletteria  in 
this  Tuscan  city 

▼ The  strong  reputation 
of  Hermes  regarding 
leather  continues  to 
shine.  The  leather  watch 
straps  produced  by  the 
maison  are  of  the 
highest  quality  and 
made  by  skilled 
craftsmen  and  women 


leather.  But  apart  from  delivering  the  highest 
quality,  innovation  can  also  be  used  to  make 
a name.  In  the  Montblanc  Pelletteria  there 
is  plenty  of  room  for  innovation.  Although 
the  very  softest  leather  obviously  appeals  to 
everyone  - it  smells  and  feels  beautiful,  the 
way  it  is  stored  here  - it  is  also  very  delicate. 

A bag  isn(Dworn  close  to  the  skin,  but  a watch 
strap  is.  And  human  skin  is  not  the  perfect 
environment  for  leather.  We  won®  go  into 
too  much  detail,  but  sweat  and  the  pH  value 
of  the  skin  are  not  really  compatible  with  the 
natural  product  that  is  leather.  And  water  and 
leather  don®  get  on  too  well,  either.  That© 
why  Extreme  Leather  was  'invented'  in  the 
pelletteria. 

Extreme  Leather  is  extremely  resistant  to 
human  torture.  In  the  laboratory  each  leather 
product  is  tested  for  different  aspects.  Robots 
imitate  daily  use  and  climate  rooms  recreate 
humid  conditions.Extreme  Leather  is  able 
to  resist  it  all.  The  straps,  with  a look  that 
resembles  woven  carbon  fibre,  are  made  of 
calfskin  that  has  been  impregnated  with  and 
coated  in  an  (unfortunately)  secret  material. 
The  process  also  adds  structural  strength  to 
the  leather  and  makes  it  resistant  against 
human  skin,  water  and  even  fire.  The  result  is 
a very  sporty,  strong  and  high-quality  watch 
strap  that  gives  the  watch  - for  example  a 
Time  Walker,  with  or  without  e-Strap  smart- 
watch  functions  - added  class.  For  the  sake 
of  completeness:  an  Extreme  Leather  strap, 
available  in  a width  of  20mm,  obviously  also 
fits  non-Montblanc  watches. 

Leather  in  the  safe 

Equally  extreme  is  Hermes,  although  in  this 
case  the  term  refers  to  something  else.  The 
French  house  symbolises  extreme  durability, 
luxury  and  quality.  The  luxury  represented  by 
quality  is  highly  visible  in  the  leather  work- 
shop in  the  Swiss  town  of  Brugg,  just  outside 
Bienne.  A rainbow  of  colours  in  a range  of 


NYLON  NATO 

Hermes  will  happily  make  you  a personalised  watch  strap  in  any  desired  size,  colour  and  leather 
type.  However,  as  you  will  understand  from  the  description  of  the  artisanal  production  methods, 
such  a strap  comes  at  a price.  For  those  who  do  want  an  individual  strap  but  don 't  want  to  pay 
that  high  price  or  simply  want  to  choose  from  a rainbow  of  colours,  the  simplest  and  cheapest 
way  of  personalising  a watch  is  purchasing  a NATO  strap.  As  the  name  implies,  this  strap  was 
originally  intended  for  military  use.  That  has  the  advantage  that  a nylon  NATO  strap  is  virtually 
indestructible.  Other  benefits  are  that  they  are  easy  to  fit  and  the  range  of  colours  and  patterns 
is  now  almost  endless.  Not  all  nylons  are  equal,  so  it  is  important  to  choose  a strong  and  com- 
fortable NATO  or  ZULU  strap.  To  clarify:  a ZULU  strap  is  an  extra-strong,  slightly  thicker  NATO 
strap,  but  with  rounded  loops  instead  of  squared  ones.  The  Dievas  brand  - shown  here  - supplies 
a large  range  of  colours,  patterns  and  widths,  and  the  excellent  quality  of  the  nylon  used  for  the 
NATO  and  ZULU  straps  is  very  comfortable  to  wear.  Not  too  slippery,  closely  woven,  flexible 
and  not  irritating  to  the  skin.  Equally  important  is  the  fact  that  the  watch  does  not  slide  across 
the  strap,  because  that  would  mean  that  the  watch  would  move  back  and  forth  on  the  wrist  as  well,  which  would  cause  friction  between  the  nylon 
and  steel  and  that,  in  turn,  would  result  in  a polishing  effect.  It  can  never  be  the  intention  for  the  strap  to  gradually  wear  off  the  engraved  case  back 
of  your  watch  while  you  are  wearing  it.  Dievas  has  a good  reputation  in  that  respect.  The  straps  are  not  ‘pot  scrubbers’  and  the  use  of  extra- harde- 
ned stainless  steel  clasps  and  loops  are  added  proof  of  their  good  quality.  From  sites  like  watchbands.co.uk  you  can  get  a strap  or  straps  starting 
at  just  15  euro,  that  will  change  the  personality  of  your  watch  in  the  blink  of  an  eye. 


RUBBER  NATO 


The  popularity  of  the  nylon  NATO  strap  has  not  gone  unnoticed.  These  days  brands  supply  standard  NATO  straps  or  variations  thereof,  and  a quick 
look  around  the  internet  also  shows  the  existence  of  thin,  leather  NATO  straps.  Even  delicate  alligator  skin  is  among  the  possibilities.  And  now  there  is 
also  rubber.  Rubber  straps  have  been  a fixture  in  the  world  of  the  luxury  watch  for  some  time  now,  but  a rubber  NATO  strap  is  completely  new.  At  Ace 

Jewelers  in  Amsterdam  they  are  crazy  about  watches  and  everything 
associated  with  them,  and  therefore  also  about  NATO  straps. 
Someone  at  Ace  decided  that  it  would  be  perfect  to  combine  the 
comfort  and  convenience  of  the  NATO  strap  with  the  unequalled 
water  resistance  of  rubber.  A potential  producer  was  found  and 
now  the  Ace  Collections  NATO  strap  is  available  in  online  and 
offline  Ace  Jewelers  stores.  There  are  different  colour  options  in 
the  22mm  width  and  three  rugged-looking  camo  versions  are  also 
available  to  match  the  current  fashion  trend.  Prices  range  from  39 
to  49  euro  and  as  an  added  extra  a collection  with  matching  bra- 
celets has  also  been  developed.  The  straps  are  very  comfortable  to 
wear  - not  least  because  of  the  flexibility  of  rubber  - and  look  tough 
and  sophisticated  at  the  same  time,  because  of  the  fine  structure 
of  the  rubber  and  the  carefully  chosen  colours  that  give  the  straps 
distinction. 


leathers  is  waiting  in  the  safe  underneath 
the  building  until  the  leather  virtuosos  get  to 
them.  First  of  all  heavy-duty,  hand-operated 
machinery  is  used  to  stamp  the  initial  shape 
from  the  hide,  and  different  layers  of  leather 
are  cut.  Just  so  you  get  the  picture:  a maxi- 
mum of  five  straps  are  made  from  the  belly 
part  of  the  alligator  hides  that  come  from 
the  south  of  the  United  States  via  an  Italian 
tannery,  and  the  remainder  is  used  for  smaller 
objects.  All  in  all  it  takes  around  20  minutes 
to  cut  the  various  pieces  of  leather,  after 


which  the  pieces  can  move  on  to  the  next 
department. 

This  is  the  department  where  Romanian 
Delia  Ionescu  works.  She  truly  is  a passionate 
leather  virtuoso,  and  she  loves  watch  straps. 

To  her  it  is  a challenge  to  realise  a small  and 
sophisticated  ultimate  artisanal  creation  in 
leather.  No,  she  wouldn’t  prefer  to  work  on  the 
famous  Kelly  bag  made  by  the  house;  Delia 
is  consumed  by  the  finest  leather  handiwork. 
Delia  and  her  five  colleagues  in  the  depart- 
ment work  on  the  same  strap  from  start  to 


finish,  so  each  strap  that  leaves  the  workshop 
is  truly  a highly  personal  strap  right  from 
the  start.  In  Delia’s  department  the  straps  are 
glued,  folded,  cut,  punched,  stitched,  sanded, 
scorched,  pressed,  painted  and  lacquered.  It 
is  a lengthy  process  that  is  performed  with 
the  greatest  possible  care.  Making  the  tiny 
loops  that  are  cut  on  the  diagonal,  fitted  and 
measured  and  then  stitched  is  a process  that 
is  as  meticulous  as  assembling  a mechanical 
movement. 

The  vast  majority  of  Hermes  watch  straps  A 


I I 0024  WATCHWORLD 


1 1 1 63 


BACKGROUND 


i i 


i i 


are  made  of  calfskin,  and  the  name  Barenia 
is  music  to  the  ears  of  connoisseurs.  It  is  the 
thick,  strong  hide  of  French  cows  that  is  now 
used  exclusively  by  Hermes.  In  the  hands  of 
Delia  and  her  colleagues  the  coarse  cowhide 
is  turned  into  a delicate,  hand-made,  qua- 
lity product.  The  five  experts  in  Brugg  make 
around  eight  straps  per  day.  In  Paris  there 
is  another  leather  workshop  where  watch 
straps  are  made  - this  is  where  very  special 
wishes  are  also  realised  - by  a further  twelve 
craftsmen.  The  straps  that  are  made  here 
complement  the  watch  they  are  fitted  to.  This 
is  the  way  Hermes  works.  It  is  a method  that 
inspires  admiration  and  contributes  to  the 
special  personal  bond  you  develop  with  the 
watch  you  wear.  ■ 


Montblanc  e-Strap  in  Extreme  Leather 


STRAPS  MADE  OF  TYRES 

What  an  excellent  idea,  making  watch  straps  from  recycled  tyres. Buck! t does  it.  In  Adelaide, 
Australia,  belts  and  watch  straps  are  made  from  old  bicycle  tyres  (not  just  any  tyres,  but  racing 
tyres).  This  is  recycling  at  its  greenest,  because  the  people  who  started  Bucklt  cycle  everywhere 
themselves  to  collect  old  bicycle  tyres  from  various  bicycle  repair  shops.  A piece  of  (former)  tyre  on 
the  wrist  is  better  than  tyres  in  a landfill  or  dumped  by  the  side  of  the  road.  The  strap  surrounding 
the  Glycine  Combat  is  a Vittoria  Open  Corsa  Evo-CX.  Bicycle  specialists  know  that  this  Italian  tyre 
is  known  for  rolling  smoothly  and  effortlessly,  but  the  wrist  is  not  a piece  of  asphalt.  It5s  almost 
amazing  to  discover  that  the  strap  is  problem  free  and  comfortable  to  wear.  The  outside  is  profiled 
but  the  inside  obviously  isn't,  and  the  strap  is  carefully  finished  and  smooth  where  it  needs  to  be. 
The  attention  to  detail  is  amazing.  The  Vittoria  logo  is  an  added  touch  and  the  screw  makes  the 
whole  thing  look  ruggedly  industrial.  It  is  also  admirable  that  the  strap  as  a whole  doesn't  look  like 
a gimmick,  but  like  a fully-fledged  alternative  to  a traditional  strap.  Select  your  favourite  bicycle 
tyre  / watch  strap  on  buckitbelts.com  to  express  your  personality  and  love  of  the  open  road. 
Converted  from  Australian  dollars  a virtually  indestructible  and  therefore  extremely  durable  Bucklt 
straps  costs  around  55  euro. 


QUIRKY  NATO 

For  those  who  find  nylon  too  artificial  and 
rubber  too  rubbery  there  is  now  also  the 
option  to  choose  a Suigeneric  NATO  strap. 
This  brand  was  established  in  New  York  in 
2013  by  friends  Wonjin  Lee  and  Michael  Park, 
who  have  a fashion  background  and  a love  for 
watches.  The  Suigeneric  straps  are  designed 
in  ‘The  Big  Apple5  and  made  in  Korea  of 
waxed  cotton,  and  are  available  in  the  wildest 
colours  and  patterns.  Camo,  polka  dots, 
stripes,  checks,  you  name  it,  Suigeneric  has 
it.  The  Speedmaster  with  a Suigeneric  strap 
with  ‘houndstooth5  design  sits  slightly  higher 
on  the  wrist  than  a standard  or  rubber  NATO 
strap,  but  is  definitely  not  uncomfortable.  The 
wax  coating  of  the  cotton  and  the  finishing 
method  gives  the  strap,  which  costs  45  euro, 
a luxurious  feel.  The  wild  pattern  is  striking 
but  not  over  the  top.  Compare  it  to  wearing 
a bright  tie  or  contrasting  socks.  It's  quirky 
without  being  clownish.  Visit  Suigeneric.com 
to  see  all  the  available  colours  and  patterns.  In 
the  Netherlands  the  straps  are  available  from 
Ace  Jewelers. 


64  i i i 


0024  WATCHWORLD  I I 


PROUD 


VICTORINOX 

SWISS  ARMY 


VICTORINOX 

SWISS  ARMY 


2Qpm/6SOft 


MAKERS  OF  THE  ORIGINAL  SWISS  ARMY  KNIFE  I VICTORINOX.COM 


I.N.O.X. 


Forged  to  resist. 

The  highest  quality  standards 
for  ultimate  functionality. 


URMAKERNE 

- nar  fremtiden  teller 


Klockmaster 


PHOTOSHOOT 


1 1 


1 1 


By:  Britta  Rossander  Special  thanks  to : Nymans  Ur  1851,  Krons,  Bo  Berggren  Urhandel  and  Ole  Lynggaard  Copenhagen 

Photography:  Eric  Satten  - all  in  Stockholm,  Sweden  - for  lending  us  the  watches  and  jewelry 


66  1 1 1 


0024  WATCHWORLD  I I 


I I 0024  WATCHWORLD 


67 


i 


Vacheron  Constantin  Patrimony  Royal  Chronometre  81 1/000R-91 62  in  rose  gold 
Rose  gold  bracelet  by  Pasquale  Bruni  with  diamond,  amethyst  and  milk  quartz 


Steel  TAG  Heuer  Carrera  Calibre  1 887  41  mm  chronograph  on  an  alligator  leather  strap 

White  gold  diamond  bracelet  by  Bulgari 


I I 0024  WATCHWORLD 


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PHOTOSHOOT 


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i i 


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0024  WATCHWORLD  I I 


From  left  to  right 

Audemars  Piguet  Royal  Oak  Offshore 
37mm  with  ceramic  bezel,  rubber  strap 
and  diamond 

Raymond  Weil  Freelancer  Lady  Automatic 
with  black  diamond 

Rose  gold  Jaeger- LeCou I tre  Master 
Ultra  Thin 

IWC  Portofino  Midsize  in  rose  gold 
with  diamond 


I I 0024  WATCHWORLD 


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PHOTOSHOOT 


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Breitling  Navitimer  equipped  with  an  in-house  movement 

Gold  Lotus  No.  4 ring  by  Ole  Lynggaard  Copenhagen  with  a very  large  coral  gemstone  and  diamond 


72  i i i 


0024  WATCHWORLD  I I 


BACKGROUND 


I I By  Kristian  Haagen 


I I 


Urban  Jiirgensen 

When  Urban  Jurgensen 
returned  to  his 
motherland 


When  your  next  big  birthday  is  250  years,  you  are  expected  to  represent  a 
rich  portfolio.  Like  this  very  early  pocket  watch  from  1821 


74  i i i 


0024  WATCHWORLD  I I 


The  Danish  watchmaker  was  knighted  in 
1861  due  to  his  exceptional  skills 


Urban  Jiirgensen  & Sonner  does  not  only  have  a 242-year-old 
history  behind  it.  The  Danish  watch  brand  also  has  a very 


still  used  in  modern  watchmaking  training. 
Urban  Jiirgensen  died  in  1830,  but  the  family 
owned  watch  company  continued  their  success, 
when  the  sons  Jules  Frederik  and  Louis  Urban 
took  over  after  their  father's  death. 

Especially  Jules  understood  the  fine  art  of 
watchmaking  and  continued  to  run  the 
company  successfully  until  1886,  where  an 
employee,  Heinrich  Eduard  Kiens,  took  over  the 
Swiss  part  of  the  company.  Kiens  was  in  charge 
of  the  production  until  1919,  when  Heuer  bought 
the  company  and  produced  high-quality  wrist- 
and  pocket  watches  under  the  brand  name  Jules 
Jiirgensen. 


promising  future  ahead  of  them. 


Rolex,  Omega,  Cartier  and  TAG 

Heuer.  All  very  well  known  watch 
brands.  Not  only  because  of  their 
watches  but  also  for  the  people 
wearing  them.  Some  of  which  are  sponsored  to 
do  so,  others  not.  There  are  however  also  watch 
brands  that  do  not  pay  any  celebs  to  sport  their 
creations,  nor  do  they  have  banners  at  every 
televised  sports  event  nor  VIP  booths  at  Formula 
One  races.  Urban  Jiirgensen  & Sonner  is  such  a 
brand.  And  it  has  strong  Danish  roots. 

The  story  of  the  brand  dates  back  to  1773, 
when  the  young  Danish  watch  maker  J0rgen 
J0rgensen  inspired  his  sons  to  follow  his  watch 
making  footsteps.  J0rgen  later  changed  his 
name  to  Jiirgen  Jiirgensen  to  add  an  Internatio- 
nal flair  to  his  name. 

It  was  however  his  son,  Urban,  that  made  it  big 
and  not  least  wrote  a legendary  book  on  watch 
making  and  precision  in  1804.  A book,  mind  you, 


The  passionate  tourist 

Urban  Jiirgensen®  watches  were  among 
the  most  impressive  and  precise  of  their 
time,  especially  his  naval  chronometers.  But 
today  it  is  all  about  wristwatches  bearing 
his  name.  And  this  was  made  possible,  when 
a Swiss  collector,  Peter  Baumberger,  visited 
the  hometown  of  the  Jiirgensen  family, 
Copenhagen,  in  1976. 

During  his  stay  in  Copenhagen  Baumberger 
visited  a store  offering  Jiirgensens  pocket- 
watches,  unaware  that  the  store  was  owned 
by  Christian  Gundersen,  an  ancestor  of 
one  of  the  four  families  that  purchased  the 
Urban  Jiirgensen  brand  name  in  1954. 

When  asking  about  the  price  for  the 
showcased  Jiirgensen  pocket  watches,  the 
storeowner  jokingly  suggested,  “Why  not 
buy  the  whole  company”.  The  joke  became 
reality,  when  Baumberger  indeed  decided 
to  buy  the  company  and  rights  to  produce 
watches  - and  hence  gave  rebirth  to  a proud 
watch  company  that  had  been  a sleeping 
beauty  for  several  years  already.  A 


I I 0024  WATCHWORLD 


111  75 


BACKGROUND 


i i 


i i 


Urban  Jiirgensen  & Sonner  follows  very 
strict  design  lines  and  produce  watches 
according  to  traditional  watchmaking 


From  joke  to  reality 

Baumberger  launched  the  first  wristwatch 
with  the  Urban  Jiirgensen  name  on  the  dial 
in  early  1980s.  Swiss  craftsmen  produced 
the  movements  and  immaculate  finish  of 
precious  metal  cases  andthe  most  talented 
artisans  in  the  Swiss  valleys  also  made  the 
dials  for  Baumberger’s  first  collection. 

His  watches 
became  a niche 
brand  way 
before  Urwerk, 
MB&F,  Peter 
Speake-Marin 
etc.  had  started 
pre-school  and 
with  a solid 
interest  from 
especially 
Japanese  and 
Danish  watch 
collectors, 

Urban  Jiirgensen  came  back  on  its  feet  and 
adorned  the  wrists  of  many  aknowledgeable 
gentlemen. 

Baumberger  wanted  to  up  the  game  and 
started  working  on  a movement  together 
with  independent  watchmaker  Derek  Pratt, 
inspired  by  the  marine  chronometerswith 


detent  escapements  and  high  precisions, 
used  by  the  Russian  and  Danish  navy,  which 
made  Urban  Jiirgensen  world  famous  in  the 
early  19th  century. 

Together  with  movement  designer  Jean- 
Francois  Mojon  and  watchmaker  Kari  Vouti- 
lainen,  both  very  well  respected  names  in  the 
industry,  Baumberger  created  two  in-house 
movements,  each  small  enough  to  fit  in  a 
wristwatch.  Even  the  dial  layout  is  inspired 
by  these  early  marine  chronometers. 

New  movements  and 
new  owners 

Baumberger©  untimely  death  in  2010  meant 
that  he  never  saw  his  in-house  movement 
in  fully  working  condition.  Instead  Helmut 
Crott  of  Auktionen  Dr.  Crott  took  over  the 
company.  A man  of  huge  industry  knowledge 
and  understanding  of  independent  watch 
making,  Crott  ensured  that  Baumberger© 
ideas  were  brought  into  life. 

However  in  November  2014,  Crott  decided 
to  sell  the  company,  as  five  Danish  investors 
made  an  offer,  he  could  not  refuse.  Not  so 
much  in  terms  of  digits  on  the  cheque,  but 
because  of  the  nationality  of  the  buyers: 
Urban  Jiirgensen  would  once  again  be 
Danish,  coming  back  to  the  roots. 


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0024  WATCHWORLD  I I 


1 The  ref.  1 140  in  platinum  with  P4  move- 
ment offers  exceptional  dial  work  and 
unique  numerals.This  and  four  other 
40-miilimetres  ref.  1140  novelties  were 
presented  during  BaselWorld  201 5 

2 The  case  of  the  new  ref.  1 1 40  consists  of 
three  pieces  with  concave  middle  case, 
individually  soldered  tear-drop  lugs  and  a 
convex  bezel 

3 The  ref.  1 140  in  white  gold  has  a to-die-for 
hand  guilloche  blue  dial  and  chiselled  white 
gold  indexes 


Passion  and  business 

Lars  Erik  Nielsen  is  the  one  of  the  five  new 
Danish  owners  and  also  acts  as  chairman 
of  the  board.  He  made  his  money,  when 
Blackstone  bought  Nielsen’s  Maldivian  Air 
Taxi  in  2010.  We  asked  him,  why  he  and  his 
four  partners  decided  to  invest  in  a fairly 
unknown  watch  company. 

LEN:  “First  of  all  because  Urban  Jurgensen  & 
Sonner  is  a very  interesting  brand.  Secondly 
because  it  has  Danish  roots.  We  feel  that  the 
brand  is  a great  mix  of  passion  and  business. 
Of  course  it  would  not  be  wise  to  buy  with 
the  heart,  so  we  also  purchased  the  brand, 
because  we  think  it  has  great  potential." 
0024:  “But  why  not  just  start  a brand  new 
company  instead?” 

LEN:  “We  have  seen  how  i.e.  Hublot  and  A. 
Lange  & Sohne  have  had  great  success  in 
relaunching  their  brands.  I am  not  saying 
that  we  will  ‘ do  a Hublot',  but  it  is  interes- 
ting to  revive  a brand 
and  we  want  Urban 
Jurgensen  & Sonner  to 
become  one  of  the  most 
respected  watch  brand 
sin  the  world." 

0024:  “Do  you  have  a 
passion  for  watches?” 

LEN:  “I  have  a passion 
for  quality.  I started 
a five  star  hotel  in  a 
five-star  environment 
on  the  Maldives.  These 
are  good  examples  of 
my  passion  for  quality  and  it  is  the  quality 
of  Urban  Jurgensen  & Sonner's  watches  that 
attracted  me  to  the  brand." 

0024:  “But  aren’t  wristwatches  oldfa- 
shioned  products  without  a future?” 

LEN:  “Oldfashioned,  yes.  But  what  really 
attracts  me  is  the  craftsmanship,  which 
Urban  Jurgensen  & Sonner  always  offered. 
We  are  creating  extraordinary  watches  for 


very  few  privileged  that 
really  appreciate  true 
quality  and  traditional 
watchmaking.  Of  course 
it  will  take  time  and 
money,  but  we  have  a 
solid  five-year-plan  and 
with  five  new  models 
presented  during  Basel- 
World  2015  we  are  very 
confident." 

The  company  that 
Lars  Erik  Nielsen  & Co 
purchased  in  November 
2014  has  a small  annual  production  of  high- 
end  watches  with  an  entry  price  of  approxi- 
mately euro  45.000  and  only  offered  of  preci- 
ous metals.  Their  goal  is  to  produce  between 
1-2000  watches  a year  and  by  time  expand 
their  portfolio.  The  most  expensive  Urban 
Jurgensen  wristwatch  that  was  ever  produced 
was  a euro  600.000  platinum  minute  repeater 
with  tourbillon.  ■ 


" What  attracts 
me  is 

craftsmanship  ” 


An  interesting  book  on  Urban  Jurgensen  & Sonner  written  by  the  Danish  historian  John  Knudsen  can  be  ordered  via  ujs-chronometry.ch 


I I 0024  WATCHWORLD 


111  77 


WATCH  OF  THE  YEAR  2015 


i i 


i i 


0024  European 

WATCH  of  the 201 5j 

Year  Awards 

STOCKHOLM  EDITION 


This  year  the  15th  edition  of  the  annual  0024  European 
Watch  of  the  Year  event  will  be  held  in  Stockholm,  Sweden. 
For  the  first  time  0024  WatchWorld  is  organising  the  award 
ceremony  in  conjunction  with  prestigious  Nymans  Ur,  a 
top-level  jeweller  with  a range  of  brands  that  is  guaranteed 
to  make  the  mouth  of  every  aficionado  water. 


International 

A lot  has  changed  since  0024  WatchWorld  orga- 
nised the  first  Watch  of  the  Year  Awards  in  the 
Netherlands  in  2000.  From  a national  edition  the 
Watch  of  the  Year  Awards  grew  into  an  internati- 
onal spectacle  which,  in  2012,  was  held  in  London 
for  the  first  time  under  the  name  0024  European 
Watch  of  the  Year  Awards.  After  three  years  in 
England  the  Award  ceremony  is  now  travelling 
north  to  Stockholm,  where  the  winners  will  be 
announced  on  8 October,  during  the  2-day  Wat- 
chout  event  of  Nymans  Ur. 

The  nominations 

A very  large  number  of  watch  houses  have  each 
nominated  a maximum  of  two  special  watches 
from  different  categories  for  the  0024  European 
Watch  of  the  Year  Awards.  All  the  watches  that 
were  launched  in  the  Benelux  or  Scandinavia  in 
2014  are  eligible  for  nomination.This  year  there  are 
six  price  categories,  divided  into  four  men's  and 


78  1 1 1 


0024  WATCHWORLD  I I 


) 


two  women©  categories:  Category  i:  up  to 
€ 10,000.-,  Category  2:  from  € 10,000  to 
€ 25,000,  Category  3:  from  € 25,000  to 
€ 100,000  and  Category  4:  € 100,000  and 
over.  The  women©  watches  are  divided  into 
Category  5:  up  to  € 10,000  and  Category  6: 

€ 10,000  and  over.  The  judges  use  a points 
system  to  evaluate  the  nominees,  resulting  in 
a shortlist  with  the  three  most  highly  valued 
watches  from  each  Category.  Representatives 
from  the  brands  on  this  shortlist  will  present 
their  watches  to  the  judges  in  person  during 
a final  meeting  in  Stockholm,  after  which  the 
judges  will  announce  the  final  winners  on  8 
October. 

The  judges 

This  year  the  panel  of  judges  consists  of  seven 
watch  experts  and  dedicated  collectors.  First 
of  all  there  is  the  Managing  Director  of  Inva- 
pay,  Sid  Vasili,  a passionate  watch  collector 
and  a regular  on  the  panel.  Olof  Larsson  is  the 
owner  of  Nymans  Ur  and  in  that  capacity,  and 
with  his  knowledge  of  watches  and  the  watch 
market,  makes  an  important  contribution  to 
the  panel.  Highly  experienced  watch  journa- 
list Britta  Rossander  from  0024  WatchWorld 
can  draw  on  a treasure  trove  of  knowledge; 
talented  watchmaker  Henrik  Samuelson  from 
Nymans  Ur  will  cast  an  experienced  eye  on 
the  movement  technology  in  the  submitted 
watches  and  the  name  of  new  judge  Blomman 
will  ring  a bell  among  many  a watch  lover. 
Using  the  Internet  pseudonym  Blomman, 
this  collector/connoisseur  is  the  moderator 
of  watch  forum  PuristSPro  and  consequently 
a highly  valued  judge.  As  the  international 
Editor-in-Chief  of  0024  Lex  Stolk  is  also  a 
judge  on  the  panel.  The  chairman  is  Harry 
Wijnschenk,  watch  lover,  publisher  of  0024 
Horloges  and  0024  WatchWorld  and  founder 
of  media  company  MotoMax  Media  B.V. 

Vilken  ar  din  favorit? 

This  year  a special  Readers'  Award  will  once 
again  go  to  the  watch  that  gets  the  most 
votes  from  our  readers.  The  winner  of  this 
Award  will  be  determined  by  the  readers 
of  both  0024  Horloges  and  0024  Watch- 
World. Vilken  ar  din  favorit?  In  other  words, 
what©  your  favourite?  Be  sure  to  tell  us  on 
www.0024watchworld.com.  You  can  vote 
untill  September  18th,  2015.  ■ 


I I 0024  WATCHWORLD 


1 1 1 79 


ON 

DISPLAY 


Work  on  the  0024  European  Watch  of  the  Year  Awards 
2015  is  starting  to  come  together  and  the  event  will 
be  held  in  Sweden  for  the  first  time.  This  will  take  on 
magnificent  proportions  in  conjunction  with  the  Watchout 
Event  at  the  Grand  Hotel  in  Stockholm,  which  is  being 
arranged  by  Nymans  Ur  1 851  at  the  beginning  of  October. 

It  is  an  honour  for  all  watch  enthusiasts  in  Sweden  that 
Scandinavia  has  now  been  placed  on  the  map  as  far  as  interest 
in  watches  is  concerned  too.  The  proposed  watches  will  be 
presented  to  the  panel  early  in  the  autumn.  The  watches  we’ll  be 
able  to  see  are  innovative,  produced  with  great  affection  for  the 
art  of  watchmaking  and  with  an  original  design;  maybe  some  with 
'smart’  functions  as  optional  extras. 

Francois  Thiebaud,  Chairman  of  BaselWorld’s  Swiss  Exhibitors 
Committee  with  chief  responsibility  - amongst  other  things  - for  the 
Tissot  and  Certina  trademarks  within  the  Swatch  Group,  told  us  at  a 
press  briefing  before  the  BaselWorld  2015  opened  that  smartwatches  do 
not  pose  any  threat  to  the  Swiss  manufacturers  of  mechanical  watches, 
referring  to  what  happened  during  the  quartz  crisis  at  the  end  of  the  1 970s 
and  during  the  first  half  of  the  1 980s. 

Mr.  Thiebaud  believes  that  young,  technically-minded  and  inexperienced  watch 
customers  with  a smartwatch  on  their  wrist  will  be  urged  to  explore  and  to  use 
traditional  watches  with  greater  flair,  forcing  the  classical  watch  industry  to  keep 
up  and  to  seize  on  this  new  clientele. 

There  is  no  doubt  that  watchmaking  and  micro  technology  will  enjoy  top  priority 
during  the  two  days  of  the  Watchout  Event.  Those  of  us  who  have  viewed  the 
presentations  that  have  been  arranged  know  that  what  will  be  on  display  is  the  creme 
de  la  creme  and  on  one  of  the  days  the  doors  will  be  opened  to  an  interested  public. 


SPECIAH  SUMM 


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high-end  brands,  models,  technology  and 


'«*»-ond  brands,  models,  technology  and  design 


WatchMtfr.v^ , “WatchWorld 

h World* 

ariawatchWorld 


technology  and  design 


high-end  brands,  modais.  I.chnolagy  and  design 


ULTRE 


COLUMN 


I I By  Kristian  Haagen 


I I 


ATCH 
VIBES 


Smartwatches  command  acres  of  news  these  days.  Die- 
hard collectors  of  traditional  watches  say  no,  open-minded 
collectors  of  fine  timepieces  would  consider  wearing  them 
on  the  other  wrist,  and  kids  love  them. 

Personally  I am  somewhere  in  the  middle.  This  is  because 
I am  an  Apple-guy.  My  iMac  at  the  office,  MacBook  Air 
laptop,  iPad  Mini  and  iPhone  all  are  great  products  and  I 
am  a great  fan  of  just  about  everything  Apple.  But  you  will 
not  see  me  in  a sleeping  bag  outside  the  local  Apple  store 
with  the  first  movers  and  tech  bloggers,  once  the  Apple 
smartwatch  is  ready  for  sales  in  my  part  of  the  world. 
That  said,  I'm  getting  the  smartwatch  vibes.  Not  because 
Pharrell  Williams  is  a fan  on  Instagram.  Nor  because 
Stephen  Pulvirent  from  Bloomberg  writes  great  articles 
about  it.  But  because  I am  pissed  off  with  the  service 
charges  I get  when  I bring  in  one  of  my  mechanical 
watches  in  for  maintenance.  And  it  occurs  to  me  that  one 
of  the  biggest  threats  from  the  smartwatch  to  traditional 
watchmaking  is  the  fact  that  a good  old  mechanical  luxury 
watch  will  either  be  replaced  or  even  trashed  for  a newer 
version  in  the  Apple  treadmill.  That  Apple  device  will  never 
come  back  after  six  long  months  of  after  sales  service  at 
the  manufacturer  with  a charge  of  4.000+  euro. 

But  even  if  the  die-hard  mechanical  watch  fans  show  only 
contempt,  they  might  consider  wearing  the  Apple  Watch 
while  their  beloved  mechanical  timepieces  are  at  the 
service  spas  in  the  Swissjura  mountains.  And  this  is  where 
the  traditional  watchmakers  should  fear  the  smartwatch 
incursion:  it  just  might  remain  on  our  wrists,  the  right  one. 
Or  heaven  forbid,  promoted  to  the  left-hand  wrist  if  you 
do  not  speed  up  the  after  sales  services  and  also  keep  the 
bill  at  a reasonable  level.  And  should  the  retailer  email  you 
with  a delayed  return  date  of  your  mechanical  timepiece, 
then  you  can  respond  with  a standardized  reply  from  your 
Apple  watch.  May  I suggest  an  angry  smiley  followed  by 
the  thumps  down  sign? 


82  i i i 


0024  WATCHWORLD  I I 


CELEBRATING  ELEGANCE  SINCE  1830 


CLASSIMA 


STEEL,  40  MM 
AUTOMATIC 


www.baume-et-mercier.com 


BAUME&MERCIER 

MAISON  D’HORLOGERIE  GENEVE  1830 


DENMARK:  COPENHAGEN:  HVELPLUND,  0STERGADE  15 

NORWAY:  BERGEN:  PROTID  IVERSEN  & CO  UR  OG  SMYKKER,  LAGUNEN  STORSENTER  • PROTID  J.  GJERTSEN,  TORGALMENNINGEN  8 - GALLERIET 
OSLO:  DAVID  ANDERSEN,  KARL  JOHANS  GATE  20  • PROTID  URMAKER  CHRISTENSEN,  STORTINGSGATEN  • HEYERDAHL  GULLSMED  & URMAKER,  KARENSLYST  ALLE  16 
PROTID  URMAKER  MALMNES,  FORNEBU  S SANDEFJORD:  PROTID  URMAKER  N^SS,  STORGATEN  2 SANDVIKA:  PROTID  URMAKER  LARSEN,  SANDVIKA  STORSENTER 
STAVANGER:  OTTEREN  GULLSMED  & URMAKER,  KIRKEGATEN  10  STR0MMEN:  PROTID  URMAKER  0.  THOMASSEN,  STR0MMEN  STORSENTER 
SWEDEN:  GOTEBORG:  KLOCKMASTER  HANSSON,  FROLUNDA  TORG  LUND:  KLOCKMASTER  B.  LARSSONS  KLOCKOR,  KLOSTERGATAN  14 
MALMO:  URHANDEL  BERNHARD  HUKE,  BALTZARGATAN  32  STOCKHOLM:  KLOCKMASTER  FALTOVERSTEN,  KARLAPLAN  13 
UPPSALA:  BERGSTROMS  UR,  DRAGABRUNNSGATAN  32 
FINLAND:  HELSINKI:  MIKONKULTA,  MIKONKATU  5 • OSK.LINDROOS,  HELSINKI  AIRPORT 

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